Little Dipper stars give off very dim light and can therefore be very difficult to find in a starry night sky that isn't perfectly dark. If you are in front of an ideal starry sky, you can find the Little Dipper by locating the North Star, which is part of the asterism itself.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Use the Big Dipper to Find the Little Dipper
Step 1. Choose the right space
Before starting to locate any star, you need to be sure that the portion of the starry sky you are seeing is useful for stargazing. This is very important when looking for the Little Dipper, as some of the stars that form it emit very faint light.
- Go to the open countryside. If you live in a large city or neighborhood, you may be familiar with the term "light pollution". Due to street lamps, house and building lights, and other forms of light that illuminate the streets at night, a dark starry sky may be difficult to see. As a result, the stars become more difficult to notice, especially if they are faint stars such as those in the Little Dipper. You'll have to get away from the city lights if you hope you have any chance of finding the Little Dipper.
- Get away from visual obstacles. While fences, shrubs, and other small objects are not a major obstacle to your view of the horizon, trees, mid-high buildings, and similar structures may. Increase your chances of finding the Little Dipper by choosing an observation point with no visual obstructions.
- Choose a night when the sky is clear. Ideally, you should choose a day when the sky is only partly cloudy. Too many clouds will cover the stars. You could also try on a night where there are no clouds but that could make the moon appear even brighter, making it even more difficult to locate those faint stars in the Little Dipper.
Step 2. Locate the North Star
Look north for the North Star. If you want to find the Little Dipper, this will be the easiest and brightest star to find. To find the Polar Star though, you'll need to find the Big Dipper first.
- Find the Big Dipper first. There is no particular trick other than simple observation. The Big Dipper revolves around the North Star and it always points north, so you may want to start by looking north. Adjust the latitude according to your location. For example, the further south you are, the more you will have to look towards the horizon to find the Big Dipper. Instead, the further north you are, the more you will have to look up into the sky.
- Locate Dubhe and Merak. These are the two stars that form the ladle of the Big Dipper and are also known as the stars that point to the North Star. More precisely, these two stars create the outermost limit of the ladle of the Big Dipper. Merak creates the lower corner and Dubhe creates the upper corner.
- Draw an imaginary line connecting Dubhe and Merak. Extend this line to a point that is approximately five times greater than the line itself. Somewhere at the end of this imaginary line, you should find the Polar.
- Polaris is the first and brightest of the Little Dipper stars, so you've already actually found the Little Dipper even if you haven't been able to pinpoint its shape yet. Polaris is the outermost star on the arm.
Step 3. Look for Pherkad and Kochab
These two stars are located at the front limit of the ladle of the Little Dipper. Apart from Polaris, these two stars are the only ones that are relatively easy to find with the naked eye.
- Pherkad forms the upper corner of the ladle of the Little Dipper and Kochab forms the lower corner of the ladle.
- These stars are also called "The Guardians of the Pole" as they revolve around Polaris. They are the brightest stars among those close to Polar and, not considering Polar, they are the brightest nearby stars on the north pole or axis of the Earth.
- The brightest star is Kochab, a magnitude two star that emits an orange glow. Pherkad is a star of magnitude three however very visible.
Step 4. Join the dots
Once you have found the three brightest stars in the Little Dipper, you can gradually start looking in the sky for other stars that complete the figure.
- The best way to complete the figure is by starting to complete the ladle portion. The two inner corners of the ladle are made up of stars of magnitude four and five, so they may be difficult to find in unfavorable atmospheric or observation conditions.
- After finding the remaining stars in the ladle, look for the stars that make up the arm. Remember that Polaris is the outermost star on the arm. There should be two more stars between the Polaris and the ladle.
- Note that the Little Dipper points away from the Big Dipper. One's arm will point in one direction while the other's arm will point in the exact opposite direction. Likewise, one will appear upside down when the other appears the right way round.
Part 2 of 2: Season Changes and Other Considerations
Step 1. Spring and Autumn
The position of the Little Dipper varies slightly depending on the time of year. In spring and summer, the Little Dipper tends to be slightly higher. In the fall and winter, it tends to be lower and closer to the horizon.
The rotation of the Earth around the Sun affects how you will see the group of stars. Since the Earth is tilted on its axis, your geographic position relative to the stars that make up the Little Dipper may be either closer or further away. This angle changes depending on the higher or lower position of the star
Step 2. Increase your chances during the right time of year
While you can technically find the Little Dipper at any time of the year under the right circumstances, the best time of year is on spring nights or winter mornings.
At this point, the Little Dipper stars should be clearly visible in the sky. The brightness will not change but you will have a better view
Step 3. Don't try to search for the Little Dipper if you are in the Southern Hemisphere
As mentioned before, the position of the Little Dipper and the Pole Star will change depending on the latitude of the position you are in. If you are traveling in the southern hemisphere below the equator, the northern sky and its stars, including Polaris and the two chariots, will not be visible.
- As long as you are in the northern hemisphere, the north pole and the two chariots should be close to the pole, i.e. just above the horizon. However, these stars are below the horizon if you are in the southern hemisphere.
- Note that at the north pole, Polaris would be directly above you in the sky, at a point well beyond your line of sight.
Advice
- Consider using a telescope or binoculars. Use the naked eye to get a general idea of where the Little Dipper is. Once found, use your telescope or binoculars to get a clearer view. Doing so could make it easier to find the Little Dipper, especially in conditions of observation that are not too favorable.
- Remember that the Little Dipper is not really a constellation. Instead, it is an asterism, which is a pattern of stars forming a constellation. In the case of the Little Dipper, the asterimo is part of the constellation of the Ursa Minor.
