Facing north any clear evening after dusk this month, the well-known "Big Dipper" asterism can be seen in an upside-down orientation above Polaris, the "North Star."
(Shown about two hours after sunset for mid-northern latitudes.)
Scheduled air date: 2006 May 08-14
Facing north any clear evening after dusk this month, the well-known "Big
Dipper" asterism can be seen in an upside-down orientation above Polaris, the
"North Star."
(Shown about two hours after sunset for mid-northern latitudes.)
Upon closer inspection, the star at the bend in the Big Dipper's handle can be
seen with the unaided eye to actually be two stars, the brighter Mizar, and its
fainter companion, Alcor. We now know that Alcor itself has a companion, making
it a double star, and that Mizar is in fact a quintuple star, having four closer
companions.
If you wish to view illustrations for other episodes, please see our Star Gazer Illustrated directory.
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Illustrations on this page were created using
TheSky6 Astronomy
Software, an advanced desktop planetarium program designed for Windows. Copyright © 1999-2006 by Software Bisque, Inc. |