What Is The Little Dipper?
QUICK ANSWER
The Little Dipper is a star pattern in the constellation Ursa Minor (the Lesser Bear). Polaris, the North Star, sits at the end of its handle. The Little Dipper is fainter than the Big Dipper and harder to see, especially under light-polluted skies. Like the Big Dipper, it's technically an asterism.
The Little Dipper is the smaller, fainter counterpart to the Big Dipper. It sits in the constellation Ursa Minor (the Lesser Bear) and contains Polaris, the North Star, at the end of its handle. The Little Dipper is harder to see than its larger neighbor because its stars are dimmer. From light-polluted skies, only Polaris and a few of the other brighter stars may be visible.
Where is it?
In Ursa Minor, near Polaris. According to NASA, Polaris is the tip of the handle of the Little Dipper, or the tail of the little bear in the constellation Ursa Minor. The easiest way to find the Little Dipper is to first find the Big Dipper, then use the pointer stars at the end of the Big Dipper's bowl to locate Polaris. Once you've found Polaris, the rest of the Little Dipper extends from it in a curving pattern of fainter stars.
What stars are in it?
Seven main stars, like the Big Dipper, but fainter. The Little Dipper has the same basic shape as the Big Dipper, with four stars forming a bowl and three forming a handle. Polaris is at the very tip of the handle. The other stars are mostly dimmer than the Big Dipper's. Kochab (Beta Ursae Minoris) at the front of the bowl is the second-brightest after Polaris. The other stars are progressively fainter; some are only barely visible to the naked eye even under good conditions.
Why is it harder to see?
Because its stars are mostly dim. The Little Dipper's stars are intrinsically less luminous than the Big Dipper's, or farther away, or both. Only Polaris and Kochab are bright enough to be easily seen from suburban skies. Under light-polluted skies, only these two stars may be visible, with the rest of the Little Dipper invisible without binoculars. From truly dark skies, the full pattern becomes apparent. Many beginning stargazers can identify the Big Dipper easily but struggle to find the Little Dipper.
Why a bear with a long tail?
Mythological tradition. Real bears don't have long tails, so the bear figure for both Ursa Major and Ursa Minor required some imagination on the ancient observers' part. Greek mythology offered an explanation: Ursa Minor is Callisto's son Arcas, similarly transformed by Zeus. The long tail comes from Zeus swinging the bears by their tails to put them in the sky, stretching them in the process. The story is mythological, but the elongated bear shape and its association with the celestial pole have been preserved in Western astronomy.
The Little Dipper is a star pattern in the constellation Ursa Minor (the Lesser Bear). Polaris, the North Star, sits at the end of its handle. The Little Dipper is fainter than the Big Dipper, with only Polaris and Kochab easily visible from suburban skies. The pattern has the same dipper shape as its larger neighbor but is harder to spot. It's an asterism within the official constellation Ursa Minor.
More Sun & Stars Questions
Mystery Question?
Mystery Question?
Mystery Question?