Constellations - Ursa Major

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Ursa Major, the Big Bear, is one of the most familiar constellations. For those of us at northern latitudes, it can be seen all year as the constellation is circumpolar.

The star in the middle of the Bid Dipper's handle is a double star, you can see them with the naked eye if the sky is clear and your eyesight is good. The brighter of the two stars is known as Mizar, and the fainter one is Alcor.

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In a telescope, Mizar turns out to be double itself so we have a three star system. All the main stars listed below except Duhbe and Alkaid are part of a moving cluster though you'll have to wait many thousands of years to notice any shift in position!

Main Stars
Name	Mag	Distance	Comments
Alioth	1.7	62 L/Y
Dubhe	1.8	75 L/Y
Alkaid	1.9	108 L/Y
Mizar	2.1	59 L/Y	An easy double
Merak	2.3	62 L/Y
Phad	2.4	75 L/Y
Megrez	3.3	65 L/Y

Multiple Stars
Name	Mag / Seperation	Comments
Mizar	2.3 & 4.0 / 14"	Makes naked eye pair with Alcor

Find your way around Ursa Major (Big Dipper)