Constellations - Part I - The Big Dipper

When I was younger, I spent a lot of my childhood summers at our trailer in Ipperwash. I think it was my Uncle Gary who bought me a book, geared towards children, to help identify constellations. It was cool because the pages had glow in the dark stars of constellations so you could use it outside at night. Since then I've been able to find the Big Dipper, but wanted to learn more about them and more. Here is some info about The Big Dipper that I found interesting (and didn't have previous knowledge of): 

• The names of the seven stars that make up "The Big Dipper" are : Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, Megrez, Alioth, Mizar & Alkaid
• Mizor (the middle star of the handle) is in the same line of sight as another star called Alcor, so if you look close enough, it looks like a "double star" that has been named "the horse and the rider"
• In 50,000 years or so, the Big Dipper will not look the same. The stars alignment will have shifted and be completely different. There will still be a handle, but the trapezoid will look different. 
• If you use the furthest side of the dipper, and draw an imaginary line from the bottom to the top and keep extending it, it points directly at the North Star
• Tolkien's Middle-earth mythos refers to the Big Dipper as "Valacirca" (Sickle of the Valar) - a sign of hope signifying doom for evil.
• The Big Dipper and North Star are on Alaska's State flag

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