The Earth's complete rotation about its axis every day makes the stars appear to circle around a point in the sky - the North Celestial Pole in the northern hemisphere and the South Celestial Pole in the southern hemisphere.
These points are projections of the Earth's axis into the sky.
The Little Dipper, even from our relatively southern position in the Northern Hemisphere, is a circumpolar constellation. That means we can see it all night long as it circles around the North Celestial Pole.
Around 9 p.m., after the end of twilight, look directly north to find Polaris, the North Star or Pole Star, 32 degrees above the horizon. Polaris is at the end of the Little Dipper's handle, which will point straight up from Polaris.
There are two stars in the handle between Polaris and the bowl of the Little Dipper. In the early evening, the bowl of the Little Dipper is as high above the horizon as it gets.
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At the western edge of the Little Dipper's bowl is the bright star Kochab, which is as bright as Polaris but does not receive the same share of fame.
Polaris' fame lies from its chance position near the North Celestial Pole. It is not the brightest star in the sky, though it and Kochab are fairly bright stars easily visible from most parts of Tucson.
Kochab has a slightly yellow or orange tinge. It is 126 light-years away and 500 times as luminous as the sun. Polaris deserves some of its fame, as it is 2,500 times as luminous as the sun with four times the sun's mass, and it appears bright even though it is 430 light-years away.
Contact Tim Hunter at skyspy@azstarnet.com