This is a really great time to check out the famous Big and Little dippers.

I don't have to tell you what the Big Dipper looks like. You learned that on your mother's knee. Right now in the early evening, you can easily see the Big Dipper hanging by its handle in the northwestern Butler sky, even in areas of heavy city lighting. If you can't see it, you're either not looking in the right direction or you're way overdue to get your eyes checked.

This time of year, the Little Dipper is standing on its handle in the northern sky after evening twilight, just to the upper right of the Big Dipper. Don't feel bad if you have a tougher time finding the Little Dipper because it's not nearly as bright as its big brother. To easily see it, you really have to go out into the darker skies of the countryside. But even if you're in the city lights, you can see at least part of it using the Big Dipper.

The first thing you do is draw a line with your mind's eye between to the two stars Merak and Dubhe, found on the side of the pot section of the Big Dipper that's opposite the handle side. Then extend that line beyond Dubhe and you can use it as a pointer to find Polaris, otherwise known as the North Star. Hold your clenched fist at arm's length and you see that you have to extend that line three fist widths at arm's length to reach Polaris. It should be easy to find since it's the brightest star in that immediate neighborhood in the sky.

Polaris is what I call the Linchpin of the night sky, because every single star in the night sky, including the sun and moon, appear to revolve around it every 24 hours, but I'll tell you more about that some other time.

Anyway, Polaris also marks the end of the handle of the Little Dipper and is the brightest star in the Little Dipper. If you're stuck viewing the sky from heavy city lighting, you'll want to look for the next two closest stars you can see to the upper left of the North Star. Those two little shiners that aren't quite as bright as Polaris are Kochab and Pherkad. They mark the side of the Little Dipper's pot section opposite its handle. In darker skies, you can easily see the two other pot stars and two other fainter handle stars that lead up to Polaris.

Getting back to the Big Dipper, did you know that it's not an official constellation? Back in the 1930s, astronomers from all around the world got together and agreed on a standard set of 88 constellations, and the Big Dipper wasn't one of them. So what is the Big Dipper? Astronomers have a five-dollar word for it. They call it an asterism, a distinct pattern of stars, one tiny step below a constellation. You would think the most famous star pattern would rate the title of constellation, but it's just an asterism. Sometimes there's just no justice in the heavens!

The Big Dipper, our favorite asterism, is actually the rear end and tail of the official constellation Ursa Major, the Big Bear. It's the brightest part of the Big Bear, and this time of year, you should be able to see the rest of the bear with just a little bit of work, a little bit of imagination, a semidark sky and comfortable lawn chairs to lie back on.

Look just to the lower right of the pot section of the Big Dipper for three dimmer stars forming a skinny triangle that allegedly outlines the Big Bear's head. That's the dimmest part of the Big Bear, so once you've seen that, the rest of Ursa Major should be easy. From that skinny triangle, look to the lower right for two stars right next to each other that should jump right out. These are called Talitha and Al Kapra, and they mark the position of the bear's front paw. Between the front paw stars and the triangular head is a star that makes up the bear's knee, and once you spot that, you've seen one of the front legs of Ursa Major. Unfortunately, there are no stars that make up the other front leg, so don't feel bad if you can't find it.

There are two curved lines of stars that outline the Bear's back legs, but the one in the foreground is much easier to see than the one in the background. Just look to the upper left of the two front paw stars Talitha and Al Kapra for two more stars right next to each other. Those are Tanis Borealis and Tanis Australis, which make up the back paw of the Big Bear. To see the rear leg, look for a line of stars to the upper left of the rear paw that bends to the upper right and joins the rear end of the pot section of the Big Dipper (or the rear end of the Big Bear). That's it! The Big Bear, Ursa Major. You've just found one of the largest constellations in the heavens!

The seven stars that make up the Little Dipper are the same seven that outline the Little Bear, otherwise known as Ursa Minor. Polaris marks the end of the Little Bear's tail. I think making the Little Dipper into the Little Bear requires your imagination to shift into an even higher gear.

Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, the Bears of the sky, have quite a story, and I'll cover that tale of the tails in next week's Starwatch.

Mike Lynch is an amateur astronomer and professional broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis and is author of the book, "Pennsylvania Starwatch," available at bookstores and at his Web site www.lynchandthestars.com.