charles

影像版權與提供: Jerry Lodriguss

Explanation:
      This grouping of stars is one of the few things that has likely been seen, and will be seen, by every generation. The Big Dipper is not by itself a constellation. Although part of the constellation of the Great Bear (Ursa Major), the Big Dipper is an asterism that has been known by different names to different societies. Five of the Big Dipper stars are actually near each other in space and were likely formed at nearly the same time. Connecting two stars in the far part of the Big Dipper will lead one to Polaris, the North Star, which is part of the Little Dipper. Relative stellar motions will cause the Big Dipper to slowly change its apparent configuration over the next 100,000 years.  

說明:
      這群恆星是少數幾個在每個世代都被視為同一群星星的星群。北斗七星本身並不是一個星座。雖然它只是大熊座 (Ursa Major) 的一部份，北斗七星卻是在不同的社會中擁有著不同名字的星群。北斗七星之中有五顆星彼此非常接近，甚至可能是同時生成的。利用北斗七星杓口兩顆星的連線可以找到位於小熊座的北極星。在接下來的100,000年間，恆星之間的相對運動會使得北斗七星的外形慢慢地改變。

資料來源: Catching the Light
                   Scientific American
               Department of Physics, NCKU