Learning
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The Big Dipper (Ursa Major or the Great Bear)The best known group of stars is the Big Dipper; you have probably heard of it or even seen it. The Big Dipper is a group of seven bright stars, 3 which form a handle and 4 which form a bowl. (The Big Dipper is yellow in the picture). The Big Dipper is not actually a constellation but is part of the constellation Ursa Major, or Great Bear.
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Little Dipper (Ursa Minor or the Little Bear)The Little Dipper is a mirrored and smaller version of the Big Dipper. It can be found by looking directly up from the two outermost stars which form the bowl on the Big Dipper. These two stars point us to Polaris, the Pole Star (indicating the North Pole), which is at the end of the Little Dipper's handle. (See picture on right).
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