Big Dipper

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Big Dipper map

The Big Dipper, also known as the Plough[1][2] or the Saptarishi (after the seven rishis), is an asterism of seven stars that has been recognized as a distinct grouping in many cultures from time immemorial. The component stars are the seven brightest of the formal constellation Ursa Major. The North Star (Polaris), the current northern pole star on Earth, can be located by imagining a line from Merak (β) to Dubhe (α) and then extending it. Polaris is part of the "Little Dipper", Ursa Minor.

Names and lore[edit]




The Hall of the Big Dipper in a Taoist temple, Wuhan

Hindu astronomy, it is referred to as Saptarshi Mandal, meaning the "Collection of seven stars" or "Collection of Seven Great Sages", as each star is named after a Hindu mythological sage.

Throughout eastern Asia, the stars compose the Northern Ladle. They are colloquially known as the "Seven Stars of the Northern Ladle":



In Indonesia, the asterism is known as Bintang Biduk or "biduk star", biduk refers to a small ship or canoe used to transport objects.[6]Buruj Biduk (The Ladle) is the formation's name in Malaysia.


The Big Dipper seen from Kauai.

In both Ireland and the United Kingdom, this pattern is known as the Plough. It is also occasionally referred to as the Butcher's Cleaver in northern England. In Ireland the figure is sometimes called the Starry Plough; the symbol of the Starry Plough has been used as a political symbol by Irish Republican and left wing movements.

Known as Charles his waine in some areas of England, the Plough was formerly called by the old name of Charles' Wain[7] ("wain" meaning "wagon," and derived from the still older Carlswæn), as it still is in Scandinavia, Karlavagnen, Karlsvogna, or Karlsvognen. In the northeast of England it is sometimes known as Charlie's Waggon. A folk etymology holds that "Karlavagnen" was derived from Charlemagne, but this common Germanic name meant the men's wagon (the churls' wagon), in contrast to the women's wagon (the Little Dipper).[8][9] An older Odin's Wain may have preceded these Nordic designations.[7] Similarly, in Romanian and most Slavic languages it is known as "the Great Wagon", as opposed to "the Small Wagon," the Little Dipper. In German it is called Großer Wagen (Great Cart) and less common Großer Bär (Big Bear).

The Big Dipper seen from Berlin (Germany) in June 2011.

In Dutch, its official name is Grote Beer (Big Bear, or "Ursa Major" in Latin), but often called Steelpannetje (saucepan), because of its resemblance to the utensil. In Finland the figure is known as Otava and widely used as a cultural symbol. In Finnish dialects, the word otava means a 'salmon net', but this word is largely obsolete in modern Finnish.

In Hungary, it is commonly called Göncölszekér ("Göncöl's cart") after a figure in Hungarian mythology, a táltos who carried medicines in his cart that could cure any disease.[10]

These seven stars (septentriones, from the phrase septem triōnēs, meaning "seven plough oxen"[11]) are the origin of the Latin word septentriōnēs meaning "north" and now found as the adjective septentrional (northern) in English, French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. This etymology goes back to a passage in Varro (Marcus Terentius) who explains that triōn- (a word not attested elsewhere) means "plough ox" and derives the form from terō, one of whose meanings is "thresh grain by rubbing". The derivation is acceptable (Latin short vowels often syncopate before -r- in medial syllables), but the meaning, if Varro is right about the root derivation, is surely "threshing ox", as the seven stars (oxen) perpetually wheel about the pole star like oxen on a threshing floor. A different etymology appeals to *septem astr-iōn- "seven stars" (aster-), which is not obviously wrong (if lacking poetic inspiration), but the development of *-nstr- to -ntr- is not without problems.

North America[edit]

Big Dipper seen from Tampa, Florida

In the English-speaking regions of North America (Canada and the United States), the Plough is known as the Big Dipper because the major stars can be seen to follow the rough outline of a large ladle or dipper. This figuration appears to be derived originally from Africa, where it was sometimes seen as a drinking gourd. In the 19th century, runaway slaves would "follow the Drinking Gourd" to the north with hopes of freedom.




Mizar and Alcor are at the upper right.
(L Yrs)
Dubhe α UMa 1.8 124
Merak β UMa 2.4 79
Phecda γ UMa 2.4 84
Megrez δ UMa 3.3 58
Alioth ε UMa 1.8 81
Mizar ζ UMa 2.1 78
Alkaid η UMa 1.9 101


4D proper moving in -/+ 150 000 years. To view this image you need 3D glasses (red-green or red-blue).







  • Two spectacular spiral galaxies flank Alkaid (η), the Pinwheel (M101). to the south, and the Whirlpool (M51), to the south.

Cultural associations[edit]

The Bible refers to it as "the seven stars" (Amos 5:8).[12]

Book XVIII of Homer's Iliad mentions it as "the Bear, which men also call the Wain."[13]


It is a prominent symbol in the Fist of the North Star manga/anime series; Kenshiro, has scars on his chest in the Big Dipper's configuration. It is identified as an omen: "When the great bear appears, violence will follow."

In the manga X/1999 and it's anime adaptation, it serves as a major recurring theme of the series mythos.







In the Disney Channel's animated series Gravity Falls, the main character's name is Dipper, due to the Big Dipper birthmark on his forehead.


See also[edit]


  6. ^ KBBI
  7. ^ a b Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning – "Ursa Major", by Richard Hinckley Allen
  8. ^ "150 ord och begrepp inom astronomisk navigation" by Gösta Bågenholm: "Som pendang till Karlavagnen kallas Lilla björn (latin Ursæ Minoris) för kvinnovagnen..." — as an appendix to the Men's Wagon, the Little Bear is called the Women's Wagon
  9. ^ Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1922), by Elof Hellquist, entry Karlavagnen: "I stället sammansatt" ... – "Instead composed from the appellative karl [man] in opposition to Icelandic kvennavagn [women's wagon]"
  10. ^ In order not to be confused with the Little Dipper, our asterism is also called Nagy Göncöl or "Big Göncöl".
  11. ^ Merriam-Webster
  12. ^ As per the King James Version. Other translations have "the Pleiades," which also has seven stars visible to the naked eye.]
  13. ^ Iliad