Big Dipper
Find the four-star bowl and the three-star handle. The outer bowl edge joins Merak and Dubhe. Compare this compact pattern with Ursa Major to see how a familiar asterism fits inside a larger constellation.
A FIELD GUIDE TO THE NAMED SKY
Constellation Explorer
Explore Solar Time's constellations, the Big Dipper, and Polaris, then practise finding their patterns.
A constellation, a pattern, or one star?
A modern constellation is a bounded region of sky. The IAU recognises 88 such regions, but it does not prescribe a single connecting-line drawing for each one. Familiar figures may therefore look different between charts. Stars that seem adjacent can also lie at very different distances. Read the IAU's explanation.
The Big Dipper is an asterism: a recognisable pattern within Ursa Major. Polaris is one star within Ursa Minor. Solar Time gives both their own selectable cards, so its 35 viewing targets should not be described as 35 separate constellations.
Start with one simple feature: a bowl, a belt, a cross, or a square. Follow its branches only after finding that anchor. If a figure looks unfamiliar, rotate the camera before assuming that a star is missing.
Three short explorations
- Compare the Dipper and the BearFind the Big Dipper and enable its lines. Open its card and use the neighbouring-pattern arrows to reach Ursa Major. Compare the seven shared stars with the larger figure's additional branches. The active guide becomes blue-white.
- Follow the pointer starsFind Merak and Dubhe on the bowl's outer edge. Continue from Merak through Dubhe toward Polaris, then compare Polaris with the end of Ursa Minor's handle. Turn on Polaris's marker to keep your reference visible.
- Connect the Square to AndromedaStudy Pegasus's large square, then look at Andromeda's branching chain. Alpheratz is shared by the two drawings. Follow the chain toward Mirach and notice the nearby galaxy illustration.
Polaris lies close to Earth's north celestial pole; it is not the brightest star in the night sky. The outer two bowl stars of the Big Dipper are a useful pointer toward it. NASA explains the North Star and how to find it.
In Solar Time, hover briefly to reveal a guide, click for its card, and double-click to enter constellation viewing. Press * to hide or restore saved line choices. See the full controls before starting.
The illustrated catalogue
These static diagrams use the same stars and connections as the app. Each pattern is fitted separately, so diagram sizes cannot be compared as angular sizes. Celestial north is up and east is left at each chart's centre; camera rotation can give the live scene a different orientation. The brightest catalogued star in each diagram is labelled. Star dots are enlarged for reading.
Polaris
This single-star target uses a circle instead of a stick figure. Compare it with Ursa Minor: Polaris sits at the end of the smaller dipper's handle. Its large display symbol is a visual aid.
Ursa Major
Begin with the Dipper, then trace the extra branches forming the bear's body and legs. Switching between these two targets is a useful way to learn which stars belong to both drawings.
Ursa Minor
Follow the narrow handle from Polaris to the small bowl. Compare its proportions with the broader Big Dipper. Keeping the Polaris marker enabled provides a reference while you rotate the scene.
Cassiopeia
Five main stars form a compact zigzag. It may read as a W, an M, or a tilted series of peaks depending on camera orientation. Try identifying it again with its connecting lines switched off.
Orion
Start at the three aligned belt stars, then trace the broad body around them. The longer branches extend beyond the familiar central figure; use the belt as your anchor when the complete drawing looks busy.
Scorpius
Follow the long chain from the branches near Antares into the curved tail. Its bend is more distinctive than any single straight segment. Rotate the view and look for that same hook again.
Leo
Look for the curved head at one end and the triangular body toward Denebola. Keeping those two shapes in mind is easier than memorising every segment of the full lion.
Cygnus
Locate the central crossing, then follow the long axis and the two wings. The cross is the easiest first impression; the complete app drawing includes additional stars along its branches.
Taurus
Find the face near Aldebaran and follow the two long horns. Compare the short, crowded face segments with the much longer horn lines rather than treating the entire pattern as one triangle.
Aries
A short bent chain makes Aries a useful starting target after a complex figure. Identify its brightest labelled star, then turn the connecting lines off and try to recover the same curve.
Gemini
Find the two head stars, Castor and Pollux, then follow the two branching bodies. The drawings need not look perfectly parallel: the paired heads are the more reliable recognition cue.
Cancer
Look for a modest branching figure rather than a bright, dramatic outline. Follow the central junction first. The enlarged dots in this guide make the structure easier to study than in a real bright urban sky.
Virgo
Begin at Spica and work along the wide, branching figure. Virgo spreads across a large area; compare the branch directions before trying to memorise its many individual segments.
Libra
Trace the broad loop and its projecting branch. Contrast this comparatively compact figure with the long curve of neighbouring Scorpius when moving through the zodiac patterns.
Sagittarius
Find the compact Teapot-like group inside the larger branched drawing. Study that small group first, then follow the extended limbs so that the full figure does not become a tangle of lines.
Capricornus
Look for a shallow, extended chain with shorter branches beneath it. Solar Time uses the connected figure shown here; other charts may emphasise a more triangular silhouette.
Aquarius
Start at the upper chain and follow the long descending branches. This is a spread-out figure, so tracing one branch at a time is more useful than expecting a compact symbol.
Pisces
Two extended chains meet near Alrescha, with a loop at one end. Follow the connection between the two parts before studying the smaller loop. A wide camera view helps preserve the overall shape.
Pegasus
Find the Great Square, then trace the branches leaving it. Alpheratz forms one corner of this drawing and also begins the Andromeda chain; compare both targets to recognise their shared landmark.
Andromeda
Follow the main chain from Alpheratz through Mirach toward Almach. A shorter branch leaves the chain near Mirach. Compare that branch with the nearby galaxy illustration in the app.
Crux
Two crossing axes make a compact Southern Cross. Compare its short outline with the much larger Cygnus cross. Similar shapes do not mean that two patterns occupy the same part of the sky.
Centaurus
Start with Alpha and Beta Centauri, then trace the branching figure beside the Southern Cross. Compare these bright landmarks with the shorter Crux outline.
Carina
Begin at Canopus and trace the long keel of the former Argo Navis. Compare it with neighbouring Vela to distinguish the two ship patterns.
Vela
Trace the broad sail outline beside Carina. Its larger shape helps distinguish it from the compact Southern Cross.
Triangulum Australe
Three bright stars form a compact southern triangle. Turn its lines off and try finding the same three corners.
Pavo
Start at the bright star Peacock and follow the branching southern figure. Compare the long outer segments with the compact central pattern.
Grus
Begin at Alnair and trace the crane’s long axis and spreading branches. Rotate the view while keeping that axis as a reference.
Phoenix
Follow the connected outline around Ankaa. Compare its compact loops with the longer neighbouring southern patterns.
Lyra
Find Vega, then trace the small adjoining parallelogram. Compare Vega with Deneb in Cygnus and Altair in Aquila to locate the Summer Triangle; the triangle is an asterism, not a separate constellation.
Aquila
Start at Altair and its two nearby flanking stars, then follow the spreading wings. Compare this broad outline with the compact Lyra figure across the Summer Triangle.
Canis Major
Begin at Sirius, then follow the body and leg branches. Compare this figure with nearby Orion: the bright Sirius is a useful landmark when the connecting lines are hidden.
Auriga
Begin at Capella and trace the broad outline toward Taurus. Elnath is shared by these guide drawings, so switching between them reveals how adjacent patterns meet.
BoöTes
Begin at Arcturus and trace the kite-shaped outline. Compare the long sides with the shorter segments near the top, then try recognising the figure without its lines.
Perseus
Locate Mirfak along the main chain and follow the branch toward Algol. Compare the figure with nearby Cassiopeia and Andromeda to practise navigating between neighbouring patterns.
Explore the added southern patterns
Begin with the existing Crux, then compare Centaurus, Carina, and Vela. Continue with Triangulum Australe, Pavo, Grus, and Phoenix. Each diagram above uses the same star positions and connecting lines as the app.
Use the card arrows or left/right keys to cycle through all 29 targets without duplicate entries. In Solar system mode, first click the constellation name to frame it at the viewing grid point; browsing then preserves that mode. Choose Constellation mode for a sky-focused view. Individual line choices are remembered, and newly added patterns start enabled under the master display switch.
What the view represents
Named-star directions are based on J2000 catalogue coordinates and remain fixed in the model. The surrounding decorative stars are generated separately. Changing the regional clock does not turn this scene into a local horizon chart: a real observer's sky depends on latitude, date, time, and the horizon.
Display sizes, colours, twinkling, and glow help you identify stars; they are not calibrated measurements of brightness or stellar diameter. The stars share a distant display shell rather than their actual distances. Constellation viewing fixes the lens at 1.2×, so a very large figure may extend beyond the viewport.
The Andromeda galaxy illustration is anchored near M31's catalogue direction, but its texture is reused artwork from the background panorama. Its displayed extent and appearance are artistic, not a calibrated photograph or a prediction of what your eyes will see. Andromeda the constellation and M31 the galaxy are different objects; NASA's Andromeda chart places the galaxy among the surrounding stars.
The catalogue includes the twelve familiar zodiac constellations. Their uneven sky regions should not be confused with twelve equal astrological sign sectors. This page teaches pattern recognition and app navigation; use an observing chart for a particular place and night.
Sources and diagram credits
Solar Time's diagrams are projected from its own named-star catalogue. Selected coordinates come from the HYG Database by David Nash / Astronexus, with Big Dipper and Polaris positions from SIMBAD. Connecting figures are adapted from the Stellarium Western sky culture.
The derived diagrams are provided under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0. Solar Time's changes include tangent-plane projection, independent fitting, labels, and simplified static styling. See Credits for the underlying data and visual sources. The scientific references linked above explain sky regions and observing landmarks; the illustrated catalogue describes the figures used in this app.