The Horse and Rider

Look at the second star from the end of the dipper’s handle. Look closely, and you may see two stars, Alcor and Mizar (Migh-zar), which are also known as the Horse and Rider. According to the Greeks, the second star is one of the Pleiades sisters, who left her six sisters in the constellation Taurus (TORE-us) when she married. Mizar, the brightest of the two, is visible as a double star in a large telescope. Interestingly, from spectroscopic evidence it is known that both components of Mizar are each double stars as well, so that there are actually four stars in Mizar, which along with Alcor make five stars in this single system.