The Big Dipper serves as a pointer to other locations in the sky. A common expression in astronomy is "follow the Arc to Arcturus." The "arc" refers to the handle of the Big Dipper.

Mizar, a star in the Big Dipper's handle, has a tiny companion. This star, Alcor, was known to the ancients. The pair was popularly known as the "Horse and Rider." ...

From top to bottom, Crux measures just 6 degrees — only a little taller than the distance between the Pointer stars of the Big Dipper. In fact, the Southern Cross is the smallest ...

While the Big Dipper is visible year round from many places, ... 79.7 light-years distant Merak is the fifth-brightest star in the Dipper and the second of the Pointers. Megrez (Delta [δ] UMa) ...

Most people have never seen the Little Dipper, because most of its stars are too dim to be seen through light-polluted skies.

Dubhe and Merak, the "pointer stars" in the bowl of the Big Dipper (they point to Polaris, the North Star) are separated by just over five degrees.

The Big Dipper also graces a state flag in the United States. We can thank a 13-year-old boy, John Bell "Benny" Benson, with the celestial design that now adorns the Alaska state flag.

With the Big Dipper as high as it can be in the early evening sky, let’s take a closer look at its seven stars. Before I do, if you haven’t had the pleasure of being acquainted with the Big ...

For example, every scout knows how to use the Big Dipper to find the North Star (aka Polaris) and, from that, their directions around the horizon. ... These are known as the “pointer stars.” ...

Not only does the Big Dipper make a pretty good clock, using it to tell time is a fun way to understand how stars move in the sky. $2 for 6 months SUBSCRIBE NOW Read Today's Paper Tuesday, June 10 ...

This is made possible by the two bright stars that mark the outer edge of the bowl of the Big Dipper. These two stars — Dubhe and Merak — are known as the Pointers, because they always point ...