While the Big Dipper is visible year round from many ... stars" that skygazers use to locate Polaris, the North Star. Shining at magnitude 2.37, 79.7 light-years distant Merak is the fifth ...

(In astronomy, the brighter an object is, the lower its magnitude; the full ... On any clear night, find the stars of the Big Dipper high in the northern sky. Trace the Big Dipper's handle of ...