Big Dipper

Ursa Major, the great bear, was supposed to be a nymph called Callisto. She was vowed to the service of the goddess Artemis, and was supposed to remain a virgin. However she was seduced/tricked (depending on the version of the myth) by Zeus and bore a son, Arcas. Hera, out of jealousy transformed her into a bear. Years later, Arcas, unknowing, was about to shoot her when Zeus saved her by turning Arcas into a bear too. He placed them both in the sky, with Arcas becoming the Little Bear, Ursa Minor.

Starting from the handle, the main stars in the big dipper are Alkaid, Mizar and Alcar (an optical double star), Alioth, Megrez, then down to Phecda, across the bottom to Merak, and finally up to Dubhe on the lip. If you extend a line from Merak up through Dubhe about five times the distance, you should find Polaris, the North Star.

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If you have a reasonably clear view of the sky between the northwest and the

northeast, then the Big Dipper can be seen at any time on any clear night from

most of Indiana.

There is no specific definition for "plainsphere." It may be a made-up term or a typo. Can you provide more context or clarify the term so I can help you better?

The Big Dipper is a prominent asterism in the constellation Ursa Major. It is a group of stars visible from Earth and is not a part of the solar system, which consists of the Sun, planets, and other celestial bodies orbiting the Sun.

1. It's not a constellation.

2. It's an asterism, which happens to be PART of a constellation, the Great Bear.

3. Asterisms can also be BIGGER than constellations and include several of them, as the "Summer Triangle" includes the Lyre, the Swan and the Eagle.

4. It's used to find the North Star, but this won't always be the case.

4a. For one thing, the Earth's slow wobble (called "precession") means in a few thousand years, Polaris won't be the North Star any more;

4b. For another, the proper motion of the stars of the Dipper means that the "pointer" stars won't always be pointing to Polaris.

5. Many cultures recognize the Big Dipper, but they call it different things: sometimes it's a drinking gourd (Africa); a bear (!) pursued by three Indians (America) or a wagon (Europe) or a plough (also Europe).

The Big Dipper is visible in Montana year-round, but it is most prominent during the spring and summer months. The best time to see it is during the late evening or early morning hours when it is higher in the sky and easier to spot.

That part of a constellation is called an asterism. Asterisms are smaller groupings of stars within a constellation that form recognizable patterns or shapes. The Big Dipper is an example of an asterism within the larger constellation Ursa Major.

It's a group of stars in the sky and they are Not for sale. You can't buy them.

Not all constellations are close to the Big Dipper. The Big Dipper is part of the Ursa Major constellation and many other constellations are spread across the night sky at various distances from the Big Dipper.

Since the Big Dipper (Ursa Major) is a north polar constellation, it appears to move very little, but it doesn't move, the Earth rotates on it's axis giving the appearance of motion. Actually, stars are so far away that, from Earth, you can't detect any motion.

No the big dipper is IN Ursa Major and the little dipper is in Ursa Minor

To find Saturn in relation to the Big Dipper, locate the Big Dipper in the sky, which is usually visible in the northern hemisphere. Then, draw an imaginary line from the two end stars of the Big Dipper's bowl and continue in that direction. Saturn should be visible along this line, usually appearing as a bright yellowish star-like object.

The "Big Dipper" is not an actual pitcher in the sky, but rather a group of bright stars that form part of the constellation Ursa Major. Its distinctive shape resembles a large ladle or drinking cup and is a familiar sight in the northern hemisphere. The stars of the Big Dipper are often used as a guide to locate the North Star and other celestial objects.

The constellation that contains the Big Dipper is Ursa Major, also known as the Great Bear. To find the star Arcturus, you can follow the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper and it will lead you to this bright, orange giant star in the constellation Boötes.

Around 90 light years away. There is no exact answer because the stars that make up the big dipper are different distances from the sun.

Name and distance of the stars that make up the Big Dipper.

Mizar 78 light years

Merak 79 light years

Megrez 81 light years

Alioth 81 light years

Phecda 84 light years

Alkaid 101 light years

Dubhe 124 light years

The 'Pole Star' is the last star at the end of the little dipper's handle.

If you look at the little dipper at a few different times, and keep track of the position in which it appears each time,
you'll see that it spins around like the hand of a clock, as if the end of the handle is nailed down. That star at the
end of the handle is the 'Pole Star' or 'North Star' or 'Polaris'. It's very close to the point in the sky that Earth's north pole
points to; so everything in the sky appears to rotate daily around that star.

Technically, yes. But not fast enough for the change to be noticeable in the course of a human lifetime.

I've seen a drawing of what the shape of the Big Dipper will look like in 1,000 years from now. It's different, but clearly recognizable as the same Big Dipper.

The planet closest to the Big Dipper in our solar system is Earth. The Big Dipper is just a pattern of stars in the constellation Ursa Major, whereas planets like Earth orbit the Sun.

The Big Dipper is not visible from Antarctica. As a person goes south of the equator, the stars in the northern hemisphere drop from view. When one crosses the equator, Polaris drops from sight. As one continues from sight Ursula Major and Cassiopeia vanish. There goes the Big dipper.

The Big Dipper's location changes in the night sky because of the Earth's rotation. As the Earth spins on its axis, different constellations appear to rise and set, creating the appearance of movement in the sky. This phenomenon is known as diurnal motion.

The Big Dipper is visible year-round in the Northern Hemisphere. During the spring, it is high in the sky in the evening. In the summer, it is low in the north around midnight. In the fall, it is visible in the early evening to the northwest. In the winter, it can be seen low in the north in the early evening.

The Big Dipper does not exist in the sky. What we see in the sky are simply assorted points of light, some brighter than others.

We human beings, however, can't stop trying to fit everything that we see into patterns. And so we see assorted dots of light, and our minds imagine patterns - and after one person has said "I see THIS shape in the patterns", many other people are persuaded to notice the same shapes. The Big Dipper exists only in our minds and our imaginations. In England, the same constellation is called "Charles' Wain" because someone thought it looked like a wagon.

The Big Dipper is what it is; it's lights in the sky. From other solar systems, it wouldn't look the same; the shapes would be different, and we would see other patterns.

Here's a rough table:

October 1: . . 12:00 Noon
November 1: 10:00 AM
December 1: . 8:00 AM

January 1: . 6:00 AM
February 1:. 4:00 AM
March 1: . . . 2:00 AM

April 1: . . 12:00 Midnight
May 1: . . 10:00 PM
June 1:. . . 8:00 PM

July 1: . . . . . . 6:00 PM
August 1: . . . 4:00 PM
September 1: 2:00 PM

General approximate rule for stars:
Wherever you see a star at some time tonight, as the dates pass, it will be in the same place about 4 minutes earlier each night, 1 hour earlier after 2 weeks, 2 hours earlier after a month.