The Big Dipper

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Seven bright stars. The Big Dipper is made of seven stars that form a shape like a ladle or spoon in the night sky. Six of these stars are really bright, and one is a little dimmer.

A bowl and handle. Four of the stars make the bowl part of the dipper, and three stars make the long handle sticking out. This shape is so clear that people all around the world have noticed and named it.

Finding the North Star. If you draw an imaginary line through the two front stars of the Big Dipper's bowl, it points right to Polaris, the North Star. Sailors and explorers used this trick for centuries to find their way at night.

Part of a bigger group. The Big Dipper isn't a real constellation by itself, but seven stars that belong to the much bigger constellation called Ursa Major, which means Great Bear in Latin.

Known everywhere. People in many different cultures around the world have spotted this same star pattern and given it names in their own languages.