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Astronomy Year / Week 04 / Tuesday
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Week 04 · Find North

Tuesday

The pointer stars
// The Big Dipper and the North Star
⏱ about 15 min

Tuesday: The pointer stars

Rocket traces the Big Dipper with his finger. "Nice spoon. Now what?"

Raven looks at the end of the cup. "What do you notice about these two stars?"

Nova draws a glowing line through them. "Hint: follow the line. Keep going!"

Follow the pointers

Find the two stars at the end of the cup.

Pick the end away from the handle.

These are the pointer stars.

Draw a line through them in your mind.

Follow the line out of the cup.

It leads to Polaris, the North Star.

Polaris is not very bright.

It is not the brightest star at all.

It takes practice to find it.

FIND THE NORTH STAR
  • Tap a card.
  • Then tap its spot.
1First
2Next
3Then
4Last
POINTER CHECK
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Which stars point to Polaris?
Is Polaris the brightest star in the sky?
Try it
On paper, draw the Big Dipper.
Lay a ruler across the two pointer stars.
Draw a dot farther along the ruler. That is Polaris!

Practice makes it easy

The first time, finding Polaris can feel tricky.

Start with the bright Big Dipper.

Then let the pointers do the work.

Each time you look, it gets easier.

FOLLOW THE LINE
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Which end of the cup has the pointer stars?
What do you find first?
What is another name for Polaris?
How many pointer stars are there?
Pointer factTrue or false?
The pointer stars are in the handle.?
The pointer line leads to Polaris.?
Polaris is the brightest star in the sky.?
Finding Polaris gets easier with practice.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEThe pointers are your map to north.
Try it
Make a pointer line with a string.
Tape your Big Dipper drawing to the table.
Lay a string across the two pointer stars.
Follow the string to find Polaris.
Safety first
A grown-up cuts the string.
Draw the Big Dipper and a dotted line to Polaris.

You followed the pointers! Tomorrow we see why Polaris is special.

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