How can you tell time by observing the Little Dipper?

Answer 1

You can tell time in general by looking at the stars, but you also have to know what the date is. You can do it with a planisphere by lining up the stars to the current date. The stars change position by 360 degrees per year, but also 360 degrees per day, so knowing one (either the time or the date) you can determine the other by observing the stars' position on a planisphere.

Answer 2

At the end of the Little Dipper is Polaris, the north star, approximately marking the point in space that the Earth's axis goes through. Polaris is the only star in the sky that doesn't appear to move through the night, it stays in one spot, and everything else, including the Little Dipper constellation, rotates around it about once a day. So that means everytime the Little Dipper had rotated 15 degrees on the sky, one hour had gone by (360 degrees / 24 hours = 15 degrees/hour).

Answer 3

You would know that it was nighttime because it is dark!