The Big Dipper Through Time

Stars aren’t still--they move through space. Our Sun and the seven stars that form the Big Dipper in the constellation Ursa Major all orbit the center of the Milky Way at different speeds. So why do today’s constellations closely resemble those depicted by ancient astronomers?

Find out why they, like us, saw just a snapshot of cosmic time.

© American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY

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