Big Dipper in the Sky?

Question

Can you tell me where to look in the sky to see the Big Dipper?
I live in Maine on the 45th parraral.
What time in the evening, durning this time of year, would the Big Dipper become visible to me?
Thanks.

Answer 1

Like others have already said, from Maine you can see the Big Dipper at night all year 'round. Right now in the early evening, the Big Dipper is low in the north northeast, so if you have a lot of trees along your northern horizon you might have a hard time spotting it. It's upright at this time, like a frying pan on a stove. Around 2 am or so the Big Dipper is in the north east, standing up on its handle (so it looks like a giant question mark). At sunrise it will be about at its highest above the northern horizon, upside-down.

Here are two of my favorite websites for star charts:
http://www.skymaps.com/ This one gives you a printable sky map for the early evening sky for the current month. I think they're set for 40 degrees north, but at 45 degrees north things really aren't much different.
http://skytonight.com/ Here they have an interactive sky chart where you can enter in your location and observing time/date, which is very convenient. But if you print it out it's not as pretty as the one from the first website.

Happy observing!

Answer 2

The Big Dipper is part of the constellation Ursa Major. In Maine, and in the majority of the Northern Hemisphere, Ursa Major is a circumpolar constellation, meaning it never rises or sets. Look north a bit and you should be able to spot it.

Answer 3

The Big Dipper is a circumpolar constellation in Maine - you can see it year round. Just look to the north, and you'll spot it - depending on the time of night, it might be close to the horizen, but it will be up.

Answer 4

big dipper is always moving because its around earth.but it has only8 stars with a tail pointing south.

Answer 5

Kris has it down.....Follow her links...Give her ten points..

Answer 6

TRY WWW. ASTRONOMY.COM