Home > Asterism, Ephemeris Program > Ephemeris: 03/16/2026 – The Big Dipper as seen from other places

Ephemeris: 03/16/2026 – The Big Dipper as seen from other places

March 16, 2026

This is Ephemeris for Monday, March 16th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 57 minutes, setting at 7:50, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:51. The Moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 7:14 tomorrow morning.

The Big Dipper is ascending in the northeastern sky this evening when it gets dark, it’s seven stars shining brightly. The Big Dipper is not an actual constellation, recognized internationally. It’s part, the hind part, of Ursa Major, the great bear. The Big Dipper is an asterism or informal constellation. It is a distinctly North American constellation. For fugitive slaves, fleeing the southern states in the days before the Civil War, the Drinking Gourd, as they called it, showed the direction north to freedom. In England the dipper stars become the Plough (plow), or Charles’ Wain (Charlemagne’s Wagon). In France, known for culinary delights it is the saucepan, or the cleaver. Many cultures saw what was familiar to them in these seven bright stars.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EST, UT – 5 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

Big Dipper as seen by different cultures
Cultural views of the Big Dipper as an Animation: Big Dipper/Sauce Pan, Plough (plow), Charle’s Wain (Charlemagne’s wagon), Cleaver.
Categories: Asterism, Ephemeris Program