Even if you’re new to stargazing, no doubt you’ve seen the seven bright stars that outline the Big Dipper, and this time of year they are easy to find. After sunset, look for the Big Dipper in the high northwestern sky, dangling diagonally by its handle.
Believe it or not, the Big Dipper is not officially a constellation. It’s referred to by astronomers as an “asterism.” The best way I can define an asterism is a well-known, easy-to-see star pattern that is usually part of a larger actual constellation.
In the case of the Big Dipper, it’s part of the official constellation known by both its Latin name, Ursa Major, and its English moniker, the Big Bear. Ursa Major is one of the largest constellations in the heavens, and the Big Dipper is the brightest part of it. This is a great time to see the entire Big Bear because it’s so high in the sky. Even in light-polluted areas, you still have a really good chance of seeing it. It might take a bit of work and imagination. I also highly recommend a comfortable lawn chair to lie back on. That will make it much easier on your neck and back!
Start your celestial Big Bear hunt using the Big Dipper. The handle of the dipper outlines the unusually long tail of the bear, and the four stars that outline the pot are the bear’s rear end. Look below and little to the left of the pot section for three dimmer stars forming a skinny triangle. That triangle allegedly outlines the Big Bear’s head. That’s one of the dimmest parts of the Big Bear, so once you see it you’re on your way. From that skinny triangle, look to the left and slightly upwards for two stars right next to each other that should jump right out at you. These are Talitha and Al Kapra, and they mark the bear’s front paw. Between the front paw stars and the triangular head is a star that makes up the bear’s front knee. Congratulations, you’ve discovered one of the front legs of Ursa Major. The other front leg is not traced out by any stars. Your imagination will have to take care of that!
There are two curved lines of stars that outline the Bear’s back legs, but the leg in the foreground is much easier to see. Unless you’re in the dark countryside, I wouldn’t even bother with the other back leg. Its stars are just too faint. To see the back leg in the foreground, go back to Talitha and Al Kapra (that make up the front paw) and gaze straight up from them to find two more closely hugging moderately bright stars. Those are Tanis Borealis and Tanis Australis that make up the back paw. They’re not quite as close to each other as Talitha and Al Kapra, but they’re still in a pretty close embrace. From Tanis Borealis and Tanis Australis look for two more stars that form a curved line to the upper right that links up with the bright star Phecda, the corner of the Big Dipper’s pot (or the rear end of Ursa Major). Once you see this rear leg, you’ve done it. You’ve just seen the entire Big Bear, one of the largest constellations in the heavens!
The seven stars that make up the Little Dipper are the same seven that outline the Little Bear, otherwise known as Ursa Minor. The Little Dipper is not nearly as easy to see as the Big Dipper, especially if you’re viewing from light-polluted areas. The best way to see the Little Dipper, or Little Bear, is to find Polaris the North Star at the end of the handle of the Little Dipper, or the end of the tail of the Little Bear. Polaris is not the brightest star in our sky, but it is a very significant one. That’s because it shines directly above Earth’s North Pole. As Earth spins on its axis once every 24 hours, it appears to us that all of the stars in the sky whirl around the North Star in the same period. (I call it the “Lynchpin” of the sky.) Use Dubhe and Merak, the two bright stars in the pot of the Big Dipper, as pointer stars to Polaris. The North Star should be about three of your fist-widths at arm’s length to the lower right of Dubhe and Merak.
The Little Dipper will be below the Big Dipper in the early evening this time of year and is standing on its handle. Again, Polaris is at the end of the handle. The next brightest stars you see to the upper right of Polaris are Kochab and Pherkad. The line between these stars makes up the outer edge of the Little Dipper’s pot opposite the handle. Your mission, and it’s not an easy one, is to find the four very dim stars between Polaris and Kochab/Pherkad that make up the rest of the pot and handle of the Little Dipper.Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, the Bears of the sky, have quite a story that I’ll tell you in next week’s Skywatch.
Mike Lynch is an amateur astronomer and retired broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis/St. Paul. He is also the author of “Stars: a Month by Month Tour of the Constellations,” published by Adventure Publications and available at bookstores and adventurepublications.net. Mike is also available for private star parties. You can contact him at mikewlynch@comcast.net.
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June 07, 2020 at 07:00PM
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Mike Lynch’s Sky Watch: High flying Bears easy to spot in June skies - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press
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