Hope Carter in Martin, Michigan caught this shot around 5 a.m. on June 24, 2015. She wrote:
I was up very early this morning hoping to catch a glimpse of the northern lights, but they never showed. Instead I focused north and managed to get this shot of the Big Dipper.
See the second star from the end of the Dipper’s handle? You can see in this photo – and in the sky – that there are two stars there. Can’t see it? View larger. The brighter of these two stars is called Mizar, and the fainter one is Alcor. They’re sometimes called “the horse and rider” and are one of the sky’s easiest-to-spot double stars. Read more about Mizar and Alcor.
Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.
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