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Old 05-10-2017, 10:55 PM   #1
xoxoxoBruce
The future is unwritten
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 71,105
May 11th, 2017: Double Dipper

One up and one down... or vise versa. The Big Dipper and it's reflection.
Quote:
one of the most commonly recognized configurations of stars on the northern sky: the Big Dipper. 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.
*a prominent pattern or group of stars, typically having a popular name but smaller than a constellation.



Quote:
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 configuration over the next 100,000 years.
It's reassuring that it will be there for me for the next 100K years.

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