Find Polaris with the Big Dipper
A simple star-hop that’s even easier with binoculars.
Published 2026-10-23
Ursa Major is best known for its seven brightest stars, the asterism called the Big Dipper or the Plough.[5]
The pointer stars
Two of its stars, Dubhe and Merak (α and β Ursae Majoris), point towards the northern pole star, Polaris, in Ursa Minor.[5]
How to do it
- Find the bowl of the Big Dipper.
- Locate the two stars at the outer edge of the bowl — Merak at the bottom, Dubhe at the top.
- Follow the line from Merak through Dubhe about five times their separation to reach Polaris.
Why binoculars help
Binoculars show far more stars than your eyes, making a star-hop easier to follow — especially from light-polluted places.
A pleasing echo
Aratus’s name for this constellation, Helike, now also belongs to a small moon of Jupiter.[5][1]
Numbered citations link to the sources list on the Helike overview page.