#BigDipper May 3

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For the month of May 2024 several of us are taking on the 30-Day Astronomy Coach4aday Challenge. The simple concept is to learn something about the cosmos each day. For May 3rd it is a brief review on how to locate the BIG DIPPER in the night sky.

The Big Dipper stands out as one of the most renowned star formations in the night sky, recognized across diverse cultures. Consisting of seven prominent stars, its significance varies among different societies, holding various cultural interpretations and meanings.

Astronomy Challenge Suggested Guidelines

Like previous challenges there are no hard and fast rules to participate. There are a few suggested guidelines.

1. Each day in May learn something new about our universe either by reading or observation.
2. Share that knowledge with others
3. If so inclined use the hash tag #Coach4adayChallenge on social media platforms

Day 3-The Asterism -Big Dipper

The Big Dipper, the most familiar asterism in the night sky, is nestled within the constellation Ursa Major. For those unfamiliar, an asterism is a distinct pattern or cluster of stars, often named, yet smaller in scale than a constellation.

It consists of 7 stars and each one has a name. The Big Dipper stars are Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, Alioth, Megrez, Mizar, and Alkaid. Its brightest star, Alioth, is 102 times brighter than the Sun, with a magnitude of 1.8. Three of which are known as “the handle” (Alkaid-Mizar-Alioth) of the Dipper and the other four (Dubhe-Merak-Pheeda-Megrez) as “the bowl” or “the body.”