The Big Dipper Gains a Star

[Swede]

The Big Dipper -- part of Ursa Major in astronomy -- may be one of the most recognized features of the night sky, but that doesn't mean it can't stand an occasional improvement.

A team from New York's American Museum of Natural History, NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, Caltech, and the University of Cambridge in England reports that Alcor, the bright star that forms the bend in the dipper's "handle," has a dim red dwarf star orbiting it. They've put out this very pretty image, in which Alcor is renamed Alcor A, and its newly-found satellite star is called Alcor B. Click on the image to enlarge.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/scienceandsociety/2009/12/the-big-dipper-gains-a-star.html

[derby378]

1. That's pretty sweet

Especially considering this is a star that we've known about for so many years!

[BadgerKid]

2. Big Dipper handle is a sextuple star system

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091210092005.htm