The Three Leaps of the Gazelle (all night)

The large and bright constellation of Ursa Major, the Great Bear is at the zenith after dusk in late April. Everyone is familiar with the Big Dipper asterism portion of that constellation. Another easily seen, but lesser-known pattern is the Three Leaps of the Gazelle, composed of three pairs of medium-bright stars strung in a line spanning nearly 30 degrees of the sky. In each pair, the stars are separated by about a thumb’s width (or 1.5 degrees). The most westerly stars Al Kaprah and Talitha, are found by extending a line drawn diagonally through the Big Dipper’s bowl from Megrez to Merak, i.e., towards Castor and Pollux. The central pair of Tania Borealis and Tania Australis shines midway between the bright stars Dubhe and Ras Elased Australis in Leo. The lowest (most easterly) duo named Alula Borealis and Alula Australis, are close to a line extended to the right (celestial south) from Dubhe through Merak. The word Alula arises from Arabic for “first leap”, while Tania means “second”, and Talitha means “third”.