Anyone who enjoys gazing at the night sky probably has a few favorite star patterns they like to look for: The Big Dipper, for example, or Orion’s belt. But those familiar shapes that many of us ...

Shannon Silverman, an Astrophysicist at the Clay Center in Charleston West Virginia, guides us through the cosmos above West Virginia. In this episode, she explores the Big Dipper, and tells us about ...

The Big Dipper, an asterism within the Ursa Major constellation, is readily observable from mid-to-high northern latitudes and its appearance varies throughout the year due to Earth's orbit and ...

This week, take some time to look overhead and toward the north to see the Big Dipper. Then use it to find Polaris in Ursa Minor (the Little Dipper) and to guide you to Boötes and its bright star ...

Earlier this month, we spoke of Ursa Major, the Big Bear, so this week we take a look at the Little Bear, Ursa Minor. Astronomy neophytes sometimes mistake the Pleiades star cluster for the Little ...

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 ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. An award-winning reporter writing about stargazing and the night sky. The North Star is the brightest in the night sky, right?

The constellations march ever westward from month to month, with old ones disappearing into the sunset as new ones rise in the east. This is because the stars run like clockwork on a specific schedule ...

Most people have never seen the Little Dipper, because most of its stars are too dim to be seen through light-polluted skies. Earlier this month, we spoke of Ursa Major, the Big Bear, so this week we ...