The Great Bear
Ursa Major
August 8 - 15 & August 24 - September 10
Ursa Major, the Great Bear, is probably the best known and easiest to recognize of all the northern constellations. Also called the Plough, the Big Dipper and the Casserole, it is saucepan-shapped and circles round the northern pole. Dubhe and Merak, the two stars which form one side of the saucepan - the side which has no handle - are known as the 'pointers', because a line continued northwards through them points to the Polr Star, Polaris.
