The Big Dipper glitters high in the northeast these evenings, standing on its handle. You probably know that the two stars forming the front of the Dipper’s bowl (currently on top) are the Pointers; they point to Polaris, currently to their left or lower left. And, you may know that if you follow the curve of the Dipper’s handle out and around by a little more than a Dipper length, you’ll arc to Arcturus, which is now rising in the east-northeast. But did you know that if you follow the Pointers backward the opposite way, you’ll land in Leo? Draw a line diagonally across the Dipper’s bowl from where the handle is attached, continue far on, and you’ll get to Gemini. And look at the two stars forming the open top of the Dipper’s bowl. Follow this line past the bowl’s lip far across the sky, and you crash into Capella.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"