At around 10 p.m. local daylight time on these warm June evenings, face north and look overhead to see the seven stars that compose the famous Big Dipper. At this time of the year, the handle appears to stand almost straight up while the bowl appears tilted down; draining its unknown contents toward the right. The Dipper is not a constellation in of itself, but an asterism, a prominent pattern or group of stars, typically having a popular name, belonging to a specific constellation.
For most sky gazers, the Big Dipper is probably the most important group of stars in the sky. For anyone in the latitude of New York (41 degrees North) or points northward, it never goes below the horizon. It is one of the most recognizable patterns in the sky and thus one of the easiest for the novice to find. Of greatest importance is the ability to utilize the Big Dipper to locate Polaris, the North Star.
