The Big Dipper is not
a constellation...it is an asterism: a part of a constellation. The constellation
Ursa Major.

If you could view the big dipper from another angle, you would not recognize it. The distances of each star from the earth are as follows:
| Alkaid |
101 LY |
or 210? |
| Mizar |
78 LY |
|
| Alioth |
68 LY |
or 81? |
| Megrez |
81 LY |
|
| Phecda |
84 LY |
|
| Merak |
79 LY |
|
| Dubhe |
124 LY |
|
|