Big Dipper: at, and below horizon

Event Date: October 30th

Time: 10:51(.07) PM

Brief

The Big Dipper transits high as seen from our latitude, and about 12 hours later, crosses the meridian again.  As seen from 38º N., only one of the stars is below the horizon, being Alkaid.  Despite that, the others can be hard to see also, since they are close to the horizon and atmospheric pollution gets in the way.  Also, unless from a high point looking at miles of clear horizon, obstruction from trees and structures can easily get in the way.  In the case of the image below, I will "cheat" by taking away the horizon-landscape, showing the entire stick figure of the Dipper.  Take a look here, as its center-point crosses the meridian.

click on image to enlarge: courtesy of Starry Night Pro Plus, version 6.4.3, by Simulation Curriculum Corp.

Detailed

   For a U.S. viewer near the western Canadian border, (northern Washington, Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota), the entire Dipper can be seen above the horizon, with Alkaid being a few degrees above it.  I have had this experience, seeing it slightly further north in very southern Canada (about 50 or 51º N).  As a result, seeing it on an early August night around 1 or 2 AM, is was decently high above the horizon.  The further north a viewer is, the higher it is at this point, and makes circles around zenith at near-pole latitudes.  Of course, it is impossible to see the entire Dipper viewed from many southern latitudes, and near the equator, it can only be seen for a limited number of hours for certain months.  I suppose that we should feel fortunate to beable to view this asterism not only from a good latitude (for those of us living north), and that it is easy to identify with what (seems like) a household object.