The Big Dipper is part of the larger constellation Ursa Major or Great Bear. It is made of seven stars. Four of the stars form the bowl and three form the handle.

Over the centuries, it has been used as a navigational guide, a tool to tell the future, and to determine the quality of a persons eyesight. The Native Americans would bring a young man into a dark field and ask him to describe what he saw in the handle of the Big Dipper. If the young man described a double star in the middle of the handle, it would mean his eyesight was qualified to find his mark when hunting for food or defending his tribe.

In the Spring, the handle points east, in the summer south, in the fall west, and in the winter, north. The Big dipper reaches its highest point during the evening sky in April and can best be seen at 9:00 p.m. It is visible between latitudes of 90 and -30°.