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Constellation
Plough (Big Dipper)
The shape: a box with a curved handle.
The Plough is the hindquarters of the Great Bear. In Greek legend, Zeus turned the nymph Callisto into a bear and placed her in the sky. Tip: extend the line through the two rear stars of the box about five times – that is how you find the Pole Star. In the handle sits Mizar with its faint companion Alcor: people once used the pair to test their eyesight.
The stars of the figure
From bright to faint. Brightness is given in magnitudes (mag): the smaller the number, the brighter the star.
- Alioth · 1.77 mag
- Dubhe · 1.79 mag
- Alkaid · 1.86 mag
- Mizar · 2.23 mag
- Merak · 2.37 mag
- Phecda · 2.44 mag
- Megrez · 3.31 mag
In the 3D model
In the 3D model, under “Explore”, the sky dome shows when the constellation Plough (Big Dipper) can be seen above Switzerland. “Constellations in 3D” shows how far apart its stars really are.
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