April 21, 2013
In the time it took you to read this, the Earth moved another thousand miles through space. You are not standing still. You never have been.
The Big Dipper
Birthday · April 21, 2013
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APOD published April 21, 2013. Credit: Jerry Lodriguss (Catching the Light). A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Do you see it? This common question frequently precedes the rediscovery of 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. 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 apparent configuration over the next 100,000 years.
Image credit: Jerry Lodriguss (Catching the Light)