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How To Identify the Northern Circumpolar Constellations

The northern circumpolar constellations circle the north celestial pole in the sky in a counterclockwise motion. The northern celestial pole is an imaginary point in the sky that is directly above a line drawn straight up from the Earth’s North Pole. The northern circumpolar constellations never set below the horizon, and are visible on every clear night in the northern latitudes. One of the most recognizable constellations is a circumpolar one; another contains one of the most famous stars. Here is a quick guide to the circumpolar constellations.

Things You'll Need

Blanket or lawn chair
Binoculars or telescope

Instructions

- 1
  Find the Big Dipper. Ursa Major is the third-largest constellation in the sky, and is known as the Great Bear. It contains the most famous of star groups, the Big Dipper, but the entire constellation is made up of much more than just that. The Big Dipper is seven stars that form the shape of a ladle, with four comprising the bowl and three more the handle. The second star in the handle, Mizar, is actually a double star along with its partner, Algor; the Indians used to test their eyesight on a clear night by trying to see both stars. The rest of Ursa Major is very faint, and much imagination is needed to look at it and see a bear.
- 2
  Use the pointers. The Little Dipper, or Ursa Minor, is a collection of faint stars. The most famous is Polaris, the North Star, which lies less than one degree from the celestial North Pole. It has been used by sailors for centuries as a guide to true north, but there is a common misconception that it is a bright star. However, Polaris is a second-magnitude star, easily visible but nowhere near one of the brightest in the sky. To find Polaris, follow the two stars in the end of the “bowl” of the Big Dipper in a line; these “pointers” lead you directly to the North Star. The rest of Ursa Minor is faint and forms an inverted ladle. It circles Polaris like the hands of a clock.
- 3
  Go to the house. Cepheus is a house-shaped constellation that is one of the most difficult to make out in the evening sky. It contains no bright stars--but Cepheus is located near the Milky Way, the part of our galaxy with countless stars, so it is of interest to those with binoculars. This circumpolar constellation has many double stars within its boundaries, and other fascinating sights that are visible through binoculars and telescopes.
- 4
  Hail the queen. In legend, Cassiopeia was the queen of Ethiopia, with her king Cepheus by her side. So they appear in the sky as circumpolar constellations, with Cassiopeia near Cepheus, looking like the letter “W” in autumn and an “M” in the spring. Cassiopeia is smack dab in the Milky Way, so she is chock-full of wonderful clusters of stars and other objects.
- 5
  Seek the dragon. The final circumpolar constellation is Draco, which represents a mythical dragon. Draco is a meandering, river-like star group that begins between the Big and Little Dippers and makes it way all the way around to the other side of Ursa Minor before doubling back. The head of the dragon is a four-sided trapezoid, but none of Draco’s many stars are very bright, making it hard to distinguish it as the dragon the ancients saw when they looked up in the sky.

Astronomy