How to Locate the Big and Little Dippers

The constellations called the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper are in the northern sky, near the pole. You must be located in the northern hemisphere to see them both clearly. These constellations are also known as Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, the Great Bear and the Little Bear. Because it has seven bright stars, the Big Dipper is easy to find in the night sky. The Little Dipper is harder to see because it's made up of fainter stars.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Sky Charts
• Blankets
• Lawn Chairs
• Telescope Flashlights
• Telescopes
• Binoculars

1. Look for the Big Dipper from a dark site. You'll be able to find it if you're in the suburbs of a city with no bright lights shining nearby. You'll need to have very dark sky conditions (away from city lights) to see the Little Dipper.
2. Look for the shape of a soup ladle. Three of the Big Dipper's stars form the curved handle of the dipper. The other four form the bowl.
3. Find the Big Dipper high in the sky during the evening in spring and early summer. Early risers can find the Big Dipper high in the sky at 6 a.m. from late November through January. The Big Dipper will appear upside down when high in the sky. That is, the dipper will be spilling toward the horizon.
4. Look for the Big Dipper at 10 p.m. for the best view during the months of March through June. Look north, so that east is to your right and west is to your left.
5. Tilt your head back until you're looking up about 60 degrees. The seven stars making up the Big Dipper should be clearly visible.
6. Identify the individual stars of the Big Dipper. Start at the handle and go around the bowl. Their names are Alkaid, Mizar, Alioth, Megrez, Phad, Merak and Dubhe.
7. Look through a small telescope or pair of binoculars at Mizar. This star is seen as a double star. Its companion's name is Alcor. Many people can see these two stars clearly with the naked eye once they're pointed out.
8. Observe how, every 6 hours, the Big Dipper rotates to the west another 90 degrees around the polestar. You can tell the approximate time using the Big Dipper once you get used to its location in the sky at different times of the year.
9. Use the Big Dipper to locate the North Star and Little Dipper. The two stars forming the end of the Big Dipper's bowl point directly at the North Star. The Little Dipper has essentially the same shape as the Big Dipper, but its handle is curved the other way.
10. Identify the North Star, which is also known as Polaris and is the end of the handle of the Little Dipper. When you find the North Star, you'll know what direction true north is from your current location. The North Star is about the same brightness as the seven major stars of the Big Dipper.

Tips & Warnings

• Locate the Big Dipper low in the sky during the evening hours in autumn.
• If you're located above the 40th parallel, you'll see the Big Dipper at all times of the year. It will be low in the sky, near the northern horizon, at 10 p.m. from September through November. The 40th parallel runs through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, the Kansas-Nebraska border and the route taken by the transcontinental railway through northern Colorado, Utah, Nevada and California.
• Many of the stars that make up the Big Dipper travel together through the galaxy, making them an open cluster. The center of the cluster is about 75 light-years away, and the volume of space occupied by the star cluster is about 30 by 18 light-years in size.
• If buildings or trees are in your way, you may not see the Big Dipper at all during the times when it's lowest on the horizon. Clouds lower on the horizon can also impede your ability to see the Big Dipper.