The constellation of the big dipper

Polaris is now in the sky, pointing to the north pole of the earth. Therefore, it always seems to be in the northern sky. It is because of its important position that it is famous. In fact, according to the brightness, it is just an ordinary second-class star, belonging to the "younger generation." It is more than 300 light years away from us. Polaris belongs to the brightest star in Ursa minor, also known as Alpha in Ursa minor. China called it "Gouchenyi" or "Beichen" in ancient times. On the constellation diagram, it is on the tip of the bear's tail.

The Big Dipper is the seven stars near the North Star. It consists of Shu Tian, Tian Xuan, Tianji, Tianquan, Yuheng, Kaiyang and Yaoguang, so the ancients called it the Big Dipper. These seven stars are α, β, γ, δ, ε, ζ, η in Ursa major, and the other six stars are all second-class except the celestial force δ. The line connecting Tian Xuan β and Shu Tian α is about five times longer, and Polaris can be found. Therefore, beta and alpha stars are also called "Polaris". The ancients connected these seven stars with dotted lines, and Shu Tian, Tian Xuan, Tian Ji and Tian Quan formed a fighting body, which was called the champion. Yuheng, Kaiyang and Yaoguang make up bucket handle, which is called gourd ladle. The whole thing forms a bucket with a handle. Because living in the north, it is called Beidou. Taoism attaches great importance to Beidou, and worships it for two reasons: on the one hand, when traveling in Elysium, Taoist can use Beidou to determine the direction and distinguish the alternation of seasons. The Big Dipper is close to the North Star, which connects Shu Tian and Tian Xuan in a straight line. When the distance is extended by five times, you can find the North Star, which is a symbol of the north. At the same time, people can also decide the season according to the direction of bucket handle at the beginning of fainting: bucket handle refers to the east, and the world is spring; Guide to barrel handle, it's summer in the world; Bucket handle refers to the west, and the world is autumn; The barrel handle refers to the north, and it is winter all over the world. On the other hand, the deeper reason is that, in the eyes of Taoist people, the big dipper star is closely related to life and death. "Beidou lives in the sky, which is the hub of the sky, and it swims at four o'clock. Everything from heaven, earth, day, month, five stars, obsidian, six feet and twenty-eight nights, all the immortals are true, from the emperor down to Li Shu, Shoulu, rich and poor, life and death, all ghosts and gods belong to President Beidou. If a person sincerely hopes, he will answer. "