The Big Dipper is a pattern formed by seven stars that can be identified with ease in the Spring Sky. They look like a dipper-shaped array for scooping water. Looking from the opening to the handle of the dipper, the stars in this array are Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, Megrez, Alioth, Mizar and Alkaid.

The ancient Chinese said that, when the handle of the dipper is pointing to the East, then it is Springtime. The Big Dipper is in fact helping us to find out the current season. It is true that when the handle points to the East shortly after nightfall, then the current season is Spring. The photo here shows the Big Dipper captured at 8pm in early July last year, since the camera was directed to the North, when the handle was pointing up, it was also pointing to the South. In general, when the handle of the dipper points to the South, then it is Summertime.

In addition to indicating the season, the Big Dipper has another more important function, it can locate the position of the star Polaris and reveal to us where are the four cardinal directions. Do you want to know how the Big Dipper can act as a compass in the sky? The Hong Kong Space Museum will introduce the stars in the spring sky on Sunday* in real-time. If you want to know more about the Big Dipper, do remember to join us on our YouTube channel.

*Due to weather conditions, the online programme "Stars in the Spring Sky" is now postponed to 3/4 (Sunday). Thank you for your attention.