The farthest star to us of the Big Dipper asterism is the second-brightest star of Ursa Major, the bright orange giant Dubhe, located at around 123 light-years away.The closest star to us of the Big Dipper asterism is the subgiant star Merak, located at around 79.7 light-years away. One of these stars, namely Alkaid, was among the 15 Behenian stars used in magic rituals in the medieval period.The seven stars that make up the Big Dipper asterism are Alioth, the brightest star in Ursa Major, Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, Megrez, Mizar, and Alkaid.The constellation of Ursa Major thus covers a larger area of the sky than the Big Dipper, however, the stars’ that mark the celestial bear’s head, torso, legs, and feet are not as bright or as easy to see as the seven stars of the Big Dipper that mark its tail and hindquarters.The Big Dipper is not a constellation, but rather it is the most visible part of the Ursa Major constellation, the third largest of all 88 constellations.Thus, sometimes its name is used synonymously with the Great Bear. The Big Dipper asterism is commonly confused for the constellation, Ursa Major, itself.The Big Dipper is a prominent asterism in the northern sky in the summer and is one of the first star patterns learned in astronomy.This asterism is well-known throughout many cultures around the globe and goes by many names, among them, the Plough, the Great Wagon, Saptarishi, and the Saucepan.The Big Dipper asterism is among the most easily recognizable asterisms in the night sky.The Micmacs of Canada saw the Big Dipper bowl as being a celestial bear, with the three stars of its handle being hunters chasing the bear. Escaped American slaves found their way to freedom in the north along the Underground Railroad by being told to “follow the drinking Gourd.” Thus, the Big Dipper was used as a navigational method.It's a salmon net in Finland and a coffin in Saudi Arabia. In northern England, a cleaver, in Germany and Hungary, a cart, and in the Netherlands, a saucepan. In China, Japan, and Korea, it's a ladle. Various cultures see the Big Dipper as something different.In Danish, they call it “Karlsvogna” or Charles wagon. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the Big Dipper is called “Plough,” which derives from Nordic stargazing in which the Big Dipper was believed to be the chief god, Odin's, wagon or chariot. Other Native Americans saw the Big Dipper's bowl as the bear's flank and its handle as the bear's tail.The stars of the handle were three warriors chasing it. Some Native Americans saw the bowl of the Big Dipper as a bear. Polaris is about five stars farther away from the distance between the pointer stars themselves. Trace an imaginary line from the North Star downward, and you should be able to find the two stars in the end of the Big Dipper's handle, which are called pointer stars because they point toward the Big Dipper. The North Star is the brightest star in the Little Dipper and the end of its handle. The North Star is often used for navigation because it points “ true north.” X Research source The stars of the Big Dipper are as bright as those of the North Star.
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