Which side of the Big Dipper faces north?

In different seasons, before midnight, the handle of the Big Dipper points in different directions in the night sky. In spring, the handle of the spoon faces east; In summer, its spoon handle faces south; In autumn, its spoon handle faces west; In winter, its spoon handle faces north.

Beidou-1, Shu Tian, constellation: Ursa Major α (Shu Tian, Wolf Star);

Beidou-2, Tian Xuan, constellation: beta Ursa major (Tian Xuan, giant gate star);

Beidou III, Celestial Pole, Constellation: Ursa Major γ (Celestial Pole, Lu Cunxing);

Beidou IV, Tian Quan, constellation: Ursa Major δ (Tian Quan, Wenquxing);

Beidou V, Yuheng, constellation: Ursa Major ε (Yuheng, Lian Zhenxing);

Beidou VI, Kaiyang, constellation: Ursa Major ζ (Kaiyang, Wu Quxing);

Kaiyang plus a satellite, constellation: Ursa major 80 (Kaiyang plus a satellite);

Beidou No.7, Shaking Light, constellation: Ursa Major η (Shaking Light, Broken Army Star).

Beginners can look for other constellations in turn from the Big Dipper.

Extended data:

Ancient astronomers in China called the Big Dipper Shu Tian, Tian Xuan, Celestial Pole, Tianquan, Yuheng, Kaiyang and Yaoguang from the top of the spoon to the handle. Modern astronomy names seven stars in the above order: α, β, γ, δ, ε, ζ and η.

According to ancient astronomy, a straight line extending from "Tian Xuan" through "Shu Tian" is about five times longer, and you can see a star almost as bright as the Big Dipper, which is the North Star.

In ancient China, Polaris was regarded as the symbol of the Emperor of Heaven, and Beidou was the imperial chariot for the emperor to patrol. Beginning in spring, Beidou was in the east, so the Emperor of Heaven began to patrol from the east.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Big Dipper