Posts Tagged ‘Ursa Major’
Sky Tonight—March 3, Recognize the Big Dipper …
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at 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 ... Full Story
EarthSky Tonight—Nov 12, Big Dipper, aka Sky Bear,
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org In our northern hemisphere, the Big Dipper is probably the sky’s best-known asterism. In other words, it’s a recognizable pattern of stars – not an official constellation. The Big Dipper is part of the constellation Ursa Major, otherwise known as the Great Bear. Every year, the Big Dipper (Great Bear) descends to its lowest point in the sky on November evenings. In fact, people in the southern part of the United States ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight—July 1: Big Dipper points to
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Today our star-hopping adventure begins at the Big Dipper in the constellation Ursa Major. Draw a line through the Big Dipper’s pointer stars – Duhbe and Merak – to locate Polaris the North Star. Polaris isn’t the brightest star in the sky, as is commonly supposed. It is only the 50th brightest or so. Still, Polaris is bright enough to be seen with relative ease on a dark, clear night. This star is famous not for its ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight—March 13, Use the Big Dipper to
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org You can locate the Big Dipper in the northeast in mid- to late evening around now. The Big Dipper is part of the constellation Ursa Major, the Greater Bear. In addition, if you can find the Big Dipper, you can find two Hunting Dogs seen by the ancient stargazers to be nipping at the Bear’s heels. The Hunting Dogs are a separate constellation: tiny Canes Venatici. You will need a dark sky to see these two little stars ... 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
