The Big Dipper, the famous and prominent part of
Ursa Major, the
Greater Bear, is seen through the open shutter of the 90-inch
telescope of the University of Arizona atop Kitt Peak, the silhouette
of the telescope's framework seen against the sky. Beginning with the
front bowl star of the Dipper,
which is toward the lower left hand corner of
the picture, and proceeding up and to the right
toward the handle, the stars are Dubhe, Merak
(the two pointing down and to the right toward Polaris
in Ursa Minor), Phecda,
Megrez, Alioth, Mizar, and Alkaid. Just down and to the
right of Mizar is its companion
Alcor, the two easily separable with the naked eye, while 78 UMa
is just a bit down and to the right of Alioth. The
central five stars of the Dipper, plus Alcor and several
other stars, constitute a physical group, the
Ursa Major Cluster.
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