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5 Amazing Constellations and Why You Should Get to Know Them
Feb 12, 2025
The constellations help us find our way around the sky, breaking up the endless array of stars into more manageable and memorable chunks. In this article, I’ll discuss five constellations I always start with and how they guide me to other fascinating astronomical phenomena.
All illustrations of constellations in this article are for demonstration purposes only and are not to scale.
Ursa Major
Possibly one of the best-known constellations in the northern sky, Ursa Major—or the Great Bear—contains an asterism of seven stars known as the Big Dipper (or, in other countries, the Plough), which is labeled “1” in the illustration below. It’s the third-largest constellation (behind Virgo and Hydra), but it leads the way as an astronomical pathfinder, offering various deep-sky viewing opportunities that stargazers at all levels can enjoy.
Mizar and Alcor
One of my favorite points in the sky is the double star, Mizar and Alcor, located in the Big Dipper asterism.
The reason I love it so much is that it’s hidden in plain sight—many of us have spent quite some time observing the well-known constellation, but significantly fewer of us realize that there are two stars sitting apparently beside each other. Mizar and Alcor are visible to the naked eye, but you’ll fully appreciate their distinction if viewed with binoculars.
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