Week of April 13-19, 2025
Spring has sprung in the Earth’s Northern Hemisphere, and with it come some pleasant evenings perfect for stargazing. And front and center right now appears one of the most familiar and easy-to-find star groupings: the Big Dipper.
We in North America call it the Big Dipper, but those in Great Britain know it as the Plough. Stargazers in Germany and Scandinavian countries recognize it as a wagon. Its “drinking gourd” shape even served in song to inspire pre-Civil War slaves to flee northward to freedom.
We’ve come to recognize the seven stars of its bowl and long curving handle as a handy tool for finding other stars and star groupings around the northern sky. This technique is called star-hopping, and it’s one of the most useful ways to learn our way around the heavens.
For example, every scout knows how to use the Big Dipper to find the North Star (aka Polaris) and, from that, their directions around the horizon. To do so, find the two stars of the Dipper’s bowl farthest from its handle. These are known as the “pointer stars.”
If you connect these pointers with an imaginary line — from the bottom of the bowl to its top — and extend that line about five times its length, it leads you right to Polaris. What’s great about this is that it works at any time of night or any season when the Big Dipper is visible.
What if we were to follow these pointer stars in the opposite direction instead? Well, we’d have to extend that line a bit farther, but it would eventually lead us toward the bright star Regulus. Its name comes from the Latin word “rex,” meaning “king,” and it forms the major star in the constellation of Leo, the lion. Try to find a lion among the stars, however, and you’ll be quite disappointed. Look instead for a backward question mark of stars stretching toward the north, with Regulus forming the dot beneath it.
If you follow the two stars on the opposite side of the Dipper’s bowl — the part closest to the handle — it’ll take you to a faint star known as Thuban. While this may not seem like a particularly important star, it served as the North Star for the ancient Egyptians.
The Dipper’s handle is useful as well. Following its curve away from the bowl leads us to Arcturus, a yellowish-orange star. It’s the brightest star in this part of the sky and is the chief star of the constellation of Bootes, the herdsman. Don’t spend too much time searching for a herdsman because, as regular readers already know, it just ain’t there! Look instead for a kite shape that extends off to its left.
Continue following the arc of the Dipper’s handle past Arcturus and you’ll soon come to Spica, with more of a bluish-white color. In other words, follow the arc to Arcturus, then speed on to Spica!
If you’ve been wanting to learn some stars and star groupings, these glorious springtime evenings are a wonderful time to get out and do just that!
Visit Dennis Mammana at dennismammana.com. .
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