Ursa Major
What is Ursa Major?
Constellations· Spring evenings (N, circumpolar) · the Big Dipper. Home of the Big Dipper — extend the two pointer stars five times and you land on Polaris. The starting point of celestial navigation.
📍 Visible from where you are right now — computed in your browser
bearing · altitude · rise time · best time tonight
Where Ursa Major is in your sky right now: https://nowsky.org/solar/sky?sel=con:Ursa Major — location and time set automatically, no login.
Stars of the figure
| Star | Magnitude |
|---|---|
| Dubhe | 1.8 |
| Alioth | 1.8 |
| Alkaid | 1.9 |
| Mizar | 2.2 |
| Merak | 2.4 |
| Phecda | 2.4 |
| Talitha | 3.1 |
| Tania Australis | 3.1 |
The 8 brightest of the 18 stars used in the figure (18 lines). Lower magnitude means brighter.
Deep-sky objects near this constellation
Constellation basics
| Season | spring; circumpolar |
|---|---|
| Landmark | the Big Dipper |
| How to find | the seven-star dipper shape |
Figures are representative approximations. Source: compiled from NASA and IAU public data.
Frequently asked
- When can I see Ursa Major?
- spring; circumpolar.
- How do I find Ursa Major?
- the seven-star dipper shape.
- What is the brightest star in Ursa Major?
- Dubhe, magnitude 1.8.
- Where is Ursa Major in the sky right now?
- Open the sky view for your location and time and it shows the position in the sky right now.
The Dipper is drifting apart — five stars that are family
Five of the Big Dipper's seven stars were born together and move through space in the same direction. This group, the Ursa Major Moving Group, lies about 80 light-years away and is roughly 300 million years old, the nearest such cluster to the solar system. Its members are scattered across the sky, and Sirius was once proposed as one of them.
The two end stars, Dubhe and Alkaid, are not members. They lie at different distances and move the opposite way, so in 50,000 years the handle will bend further and the bowl will spread into a shape unlike today's. Proper motion tells the story: the Dipper we see is an arrangement that happens to fit this era.
The constellation in depth
Ursa Major is remembered for the Big Dipper — which is really just the bear's tail and hindquarters. The full constellation is the third largest in the sky.
Extend the two pointer stars (Merak→Dubhe) five times to reach Polaris — humanity's oldest navigation trick. Beside Mizar in the handle sits little Alcor, once used as an eyesight test.
Above latitude 41°N it never sets — from Seoul it barely dips — wheeling around the pole through the seasons. Scrub time in the Sky view and watch the Dipper stand up and lie down through the year.
Mizar, second star in the Dipper's handle, is a classic naked-eye test — spot faint Alcor beside it and your vision is sharp. A telescope splits Mizar again, and spectroscopy reveals six stars entangled in one system. Extend the handle's curve and you 'arc to Arcturus' in Boötes.
Related
Figures are representative approximations. Simulated positions use J2000 mean elements.