Posts Tagged ‘North Star’
Sky Tonight—April 1, Use Big Dipper to find Polaris
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org Here is the view northward on April evenings. At present the Big Dipper is high in the north. Notice the two outer stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper. These two stars – called Duhbe and Merak – always point to Polaris, the North Star. Polaris is special because it always stays in the same spot in the northern sky. It is the star around which the entire northern sky appears to turn. That is because Polaris is ... Full Story
EarthSky Tonight—October 16, See Cassiopeia and Big
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org On October evenings, the Big Dipper resides rather low in the northwest sky, and the W or M-shape constellation Cassiopeia the Queen sits on her throne in the upper northeast sky. These two star formations are like riders on opposite side of a Ferris Wheel. They spin around Polaris, the North Star, once a day. As one rises upward, the other plunges downward – and vice versa. As evening deepens into late night, the Big Dipper ... Full Story
EarthSky Tonight—September 7, Use Big Dipper to
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Tonight’s chart shows the Polaris, the Big and Little Dippers for a September evening. Notice that a line from the two outermost stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper point to Polaris, the North Star. Also notice that Polaris marks the tip of the handle of the Little Dipper. Bright star in east? Might be planet Jupiter, nearly at its closest since 1951. The Big Dipper swings full circle (360 degrees) around Polaris in about 23 ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight—August 3, Dipper points to Polaris,
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org The two outer stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper – Dubhe and Merak – always point to Polaris, the North Star. To find this Dipper at this time of year, look toward the northwest in the evening. Once you have found it – after locating Polaris – look more carefully at the second star from the end of the Big Dipper’s handle. If your sky is dark enough, and your eyesight is good, you will see that this star, Mizar, has a ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight—April 7, 2010: Kochab and Pherkad
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org If you draw an imaginary line between the two outer stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper – and extend that line northward on the sky’s dome – you’ll come to Polaris, the North Star. Polaris marks the end of the handle of the Little Dipper, which is fainter and looks less like a dipper than the Big Dipper. Polaris is special because Earth’s northern axis nearly points to it. Polaris is less than a degree away from true ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight — April 6, 2010: Use Big Dipper to
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Here is the view northward on April evenings. Now the Big Dipper is high in the north. Notice the two outer stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper. These two stars – called Duhbe and Merak – always point to Polaris, the North Star. Polaris is special because it always stays in the same spot in the northern sky. It is the star around which the entire northern sky appears to turn. That is because Polaris is located more or less ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight — March 4, 2010: Recognize the Big
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org We received a question about the Big and Little Dippers. “How can I locate both Ursa Minor and Ursa Major? I am seeing one of them in the sky . . . but cannot tell which one and where the other one is.” The answer is that, if you are seeing only one dipper, it is probably the Big Dipper in the constellation Ursa Major. This constellation, also called the Greater Bear, contains the Big Dipper asterism that is familiar to so ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight — March 3, 2010: Use the Big Dipper
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org At one time, sailors’ livelihoods and survival depended on their lucky stars – most especially, the pointer stars of the Big Dipper. Drawing a line through the two outer stars of the bowl faithfully points to Polaris, the North Star. Polaris is not the brightest star in the sky, as is commonly believed. It is a moderately bright second magnitude star, radiant enough to be easily seen – even on a moonlit night. Polaris, ... Full Story
