Anyone who enjoys gazing at the night sky probably has a few favorite star patterns they like to look for: The Big Dipper, for example, or Orion’s belt. But those familiar shapes that many of us ...

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." At around 10 p.m. local daylight ...

My wife and I were on our back patio the other night enjoying the night sky. While looking at the Big Dipper, I started to wonder just how big is it? If a person were to start at the end of the ...

Some of my earliest stargazing memories involve the same seven stars. Whether you call it the Plough or the Big Dipper – or even the saucepan, the panhandle or the wagon – the stars that form ...

All amateur astronomers are well familiar with the Big Dipper and Little Dipper, two important components of the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, respectively. Remember, the Big Dipper ...

The Big Dipper is part of the Ursa Major constellation. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. The James Webb Space Telescope is ...

When you look at the northern sky, you can follow the arm of the Big Dipper as it arcs around toward the bright star called Arcturus. Roughly in the middle of that arc, you'll find the Northern ...