The stars of the Big Dipper are a handy guide to other stars, constellations, and other thought-provoking objects that may be too faint to spot with the naked eye. Using well-known spots in the sky to find fainter ones is known as star hopping—think of it as an astronomical treasure hunt! And one of the easiest and coolest place to start is with the two end stars that form the front of the dipper's bowl—they point straight to Polaris, the North Star.

All the other stars in the sky seem to turn counterclockwise around Polaris. Polaris itself marks the end of the handle of another pattern, the Little Dipper in Ursa Minor, the Little Bear. If you find Polaris, you know which way is north.

Following the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper points to two of spring's brightest stars—Arcturus and Spica. With a bit of practice, it's surprisingly easy to imagine lines and arcs from star to star and hop from constellations you know to those you're still learning.