Stephen James O'Mearaò??s Secret Sky: The Bearò??s collective heart

Go outside after sunset this month and face north. High overhead, youò??ll find Ursa Major the Great Bear performing a back flip over the North Star. Itò??s also the time of year when the constellationò??s Big Dipper (or Plow) asterism, a stunning collection of seven bright naked-eye stars of near-equal magnitude, appears to spill its contents over the thirsty Earth ò?? ò??a kind of celestial metaphor,ò?? the late Jack Horkheimer liked to say, for the nurturing power of spring.