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May Constellation: The Big Dipper

To find the Big Dipper in the spring time, just look up,
LOOK WAAAY UP!
The Big Dipper is right overhead and it looks upside down.

In fact, the Big Dipper is not a constellation at all, but an asterism which is a star pattern within a larger star pattern known as a constellation. The Big Dipper is part of the constellation called Ursa Major.

The Big Dipper rotates around Polaris, the North Star, as the Earth spins counterclockwise on its axis which is pointing almost perfectly to Polaris making it the centre of the northern hemisphere's night sky.

Polaris is the brightest star of a constellation called, coincidentally, Ursa Minor.

French speaking people call these two constellations; "La Grande Ourse" which means "The Great Bear" (Ursa Major) and "La Petite Ourse" which means  "The Small Bear" (Ursa Minor) respectively. You can also think about them as the mama bear and the baby bear.

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