The Big Dipper is Ursa Major’s asterism – the prominent pattern of stars that is smaller than the constellation itself. It forms the hindquarters of the Great Bear. The Big Dipper consists of seven main stars, six of which are the brightest in the whole constellation. The rest of Ursa Major is hard to see with the naked eye when the sky is light-polluted. Learn how to find Ursa Major and other constellations in our infographic.