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Mr. R.

The LITTLE BEAR (Ursa Minor)

Once the North Star is found (Polaris), we are at the end of the Little Bears tail  or the Little Dipper's handle.  Draw an imaginary line between between Polaris and the end of the Big Dipper's handle.  Half way between these two stars there are two fairly bright stars perpendicular to our imaginary line.  Most other stars a fainter, so they aren't too hard to find.  These are Kochab and Pherkad, also known as the guardians. It really doesn't look much like a bear, so we'll draw the Little Dipper.  Moving a little ways left of the guardians, there are two faint stars about the same distance apart.  Using these as the back of the bowl, fill in the rest of the handle. During the night, the Earth rotates, making the Little Dipper seem to rotate around Polaris.  This is why it is called the North Star, being less the 3-degrees off in accuracy.  Believe it or not, Polaris has not always been the North Star.  Kochab, Thuban, Vega and many others have and will again be the North Star (but not in our lifetime).  Read more about a Platonian Year in FYI.

Photo credit: John & Janet's (Amateur Astronomy)

HELPFUL LINK TO "CONSTELLATION" INFORMATION
    Absolute Astronomy.com Choose your desired constellation
    The Dome Information on constellations, their stars, and starlore
    Allthesky.com Constellation photos, deep sky objects, observatories, etc.
    John & Janet's (Amateur Astronomy) Actual photos of constellations
    Teletrade Used telescopes and equipment (If he ain't got it, you don't need it!)
    PAS (Peorea Astronomical Society) Constallations info galore
    A Practical Guide to Astronomy Very educational site
    KidsAstronomy.com STARS--Red, yellow, blue, orange...