How to find Cassiopeia
The unmistakable 'W' (or 'M') on the opposite side of Polaris from the Big Dipper.
Schedar — an orange giant marking the Queen.
Cassiopeia is one of the easiest constellations to recognise: five bright stars in a zig-zag 'W' or 'M' shape, depending on the season. Like the Big Dipper it's circumpolar from mid-northern latitudes, so it never sets.
It sits across Polaris from the Big Dipper, so when one is low the other is high — together they bracket the North Star year-round.
A second northern signpost
Because Cassiopeia and the Big Dipper are on opposite sides of Polaris, one of them is always well placed. On autumn evenings, when the Dipper sits low, Cassiopeia rides high overhead.
It lies directly in the band of the Milky Way, so from a dark site it sparkles with background stars and star clusters.
How to find it
- Look for five bright stars in a flattened 'W' or 'M' on the side of Polaris opposite the Big Dipper
- Highest overhead on autumn and early-winter evenings
- The middle of the 'W' roughly points toward Polaris
Deep-sky highlights
- Open clusters M52 and M103
- The Pacman Nebula (NGC 281) for astrophotographers
- Rich Milky Way star fields throughout
Stella shows exactly when Cassiopeia is highest from your location tonight — and whether the sky is worth it.
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