Always There

Most constellations come and go with the seasons. Orion in winter, Leo in spring, Scorpio in summer, Andromeda in the fall. And many, many others.

But a few constellations, called circumpolar, are so near the Pole Star Polaris, that, like that star, they never rise or set, and are in the sky all night, every night. They are the Big and Little Dipper, Draco, Cassiopeia, and Cepheus.

Though they're always there, they aren't always so easy to find. In winter, spring, and fall, some of them are so close to the horizon that even a tree can hide them. But now, and all through the summer, they're spread out prominently in the northern sky.

Start at the Big Dipper, high in the northeast. The end stars of the bowl are called the pointer stars , and show you the way to Polaris. Polaris is the star at the end of the handle of the Little Dipper. Two equally bright stars mark the end of the Little Dipper, and, if you look carefully on a dark night, you'll be able to trace out the whole dipper.

Now repeat what you just did: the two bright stars at the end of the Little Dipper are pointers, too: they point (towards the northeast) to the eyes of Draco, stars almost equally bright. The rest of Draco twists like a snake: first to the north, then back, and finally to lie between the dippers.

On the other side of Polaris, about as far as Polaris is from the Big Dipper, is the constellation of Cassiopeia the queen, basking in the glow of the Milky Way. She like a letter "W" in the north-eastern sky. Midway between Polaris and Cassiopeia is the top of the house representing Cepheus the King, husband of Cassiopeia.

These constellations are in the sky all night, every night. They can guide us to all the other constellations in the sky. They will always be there.

(04/02/08)