{"id":882,"date":"2020-08-28T05:00:13","date_gmt":"2020-08-28T12:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/coastaltourism\/?p=882"},"modified":"2020-08-28T16:36:23","modified_gmt":"2020-08-28T23:36:23","slug":"the-big-dipper-and-north-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/coastaltourism\/the-big-dipper-and-north-star\/","title":{"rendered":"The Big Dipper and North Star"},"content":{"rendered":"
When we are lucky, the skies are clear and if light pollution is low then the sky above is filled with stars. It is a spectacular view to see and if you look close you can see some important starts that have been used for navigation for a very long time.<\/p>\n
The Big Dipper<\/strong><\/h3>\n
The Big Dipper is an asterism, or a group of notable stars that form a pattern, in the constellation Ursa Major, also known as the Great Bear. Due to it\u2019s prominent shape and brightness, it is one of the most familiar star shapes in the northern sky.<\/p>\n
It contains eight stars where seven are usually visible to most. The Big Dipper is named for the shape the stars appear in, a handle and a bowl.<\/p>\n
Each of these stars have a name. Starting from the handle and going around to the bottom of the bowl they are known as: Alkaid, Mizar-Alcor (the first double star to be discovered through a telescope), Aloith, Megrex, Phecda, Merak and Dubhe.<\/p>\n
Polaris<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Another important star to know is the North Star, Polaris. This star is very easy to find if you know where the Big Dipper is.<\/p>\n
If you draw a line through the two outer stars of the bowl it points right to it! Many sailors\u2019 depended on this star to navigate because it points the direction of north.<\/p>\n\n \n Using the Big Dipper to find the North Star<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/coastaltourism\/files\/2018\/07\/Stars-300x273.jpg?resize=300%2C273\")
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