Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2023 December 10 [2]A landscape shows tall mountains in the distance and evergreen trees nearby. Overhead is a star filled sky, with the stars of the Big Dipper easily apparent. A rollover image labels names for the Big Dipper stars. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. Big Dipper over Pyramid Mountain Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Steve Cullen Explanation: When did you first learn to identify this group of stars? Although they are familiar to many people around the world, different cultures have associated this [4]asterism with [5]different icons and folklore. Known in the [6]USA as the [7]Big Dipper, the stars are part of a constellation designated by the [8]International Astronomical Union in 1922 as the Great Bear ([9]Ursa Major). The recognized star names of these stars are (left to right) [10]Alkaid, [11]Mizar/Alcor, [12]Alioth, [13]Megrez, [14]Phecda, [15]Merak, and [16]Dubhe. Of course, stars in any given [17]constellation are unlikely to be physically [18]related. But [19]surprisingly, most of the Big Dipper stars do seem to be headed in the same direction as they [20]plough through space, a property they share with other stars spread out over an even larger area across the sky. [21]Their measured common motion suggests that they all belong to a loose, nearby [22]star cluster, thought to be on average only about 75 [23]light-years away and up to 30 light-years across. The cluster is more properly known as the [24]Ursa Major Moving Group. The [25]featured image captured the iconic stars recently above [26]Pyramid Mountain in [27]Alberta, [28]Canada. Night Sky Network webinar: [29]APOD editor to review coolest space images of 2023 Tomorrow's picture: sun change __________________________________________________________________ [30]< | [31]Archive | [32]Submissions | [33]Index | [34]Search | [35]Calendar | [36]RSS | [37]Education | [38]About APOD | [39]Discuss | [40]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [41]Robert Nemiroff ([42]MTU) & [43]Jerry Bonnell ([44]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [45]Specific rights apply. [46]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [47]ASD at [48]NASA / [49]GSFC, [50]NASA Science Activation & [51]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2312/BigDipperMt2_Cullen_1365.jpg 3. https://www.stevecullenmedia.com/about/ 4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterism_(astronomy) 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Dipper#Names_and_places 6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States 7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130421.html 8. https://www.iau.org/administration/about/ 9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursa_Major 10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eta_Ursae_Majoris 11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizar_and_Alcor 12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epsilon_Ursae_Majoris 13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Ursae_Majoris 14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_Ursae_Majoris 15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_Ursae_Majoris 16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_Ursae_Majoris 17. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/constellations/en/ 18. http://www.comfychair.org/~cmbell/myth/myth.html 19. https://i.pinimg.com/originals/96/d5/19/96d5193fa5f6968243838aef44d4b4b7.jpg 20. http://www.dibonsmith.com/uma_con.htm 21. http://www.kencroswell.com/DescendantsOfTheDipper.html 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap051118.html 23. https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/faq/26/what-is-a-light-year/ 24. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursa_Major_moving_group 25. https://www.facebook.com/cullenmedia/photos/a.1042986535821786.1073741827.1034682046652235/1446299962157106/?type=3&theater 26. https://youtu.be/hEyJPyemodA 27. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberta 28. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada 29. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S00SNpSNKZo 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231209.html 31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 34. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 36. https://apod.com/feed.rss 37. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 38. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 39. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=231210 40. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231211.html 41. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 42. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 43. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 44. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 45. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 46. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 47. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 48. https://www.nasa.gov/ 49. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 50. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 51. http://www.mtu.edu/