This starry night sky sparkles above the Black Hills
of South Dakota and the United States'
Mount Rushmore National Park .
The historic site features enormous sculptures of
four
US presidents ; George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore
Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln,
carved into the southeast face of granite cliffs.
Above the monumental symbols of the
country's
independence
and early history, the night features stars and constellations
familiar to northern
skygazers around
the world .
Most noticeable are the stars of Ursa Major and the
asterism
known as the Big Dipper, almost resting upright along the cliff edge
near picture center.
Follow the arc
of the Big Dipper's handle to get to Arc turus,
the bright yellowish star in the lower left corner.
Of course, a line extending
through the dipper's two
right most stars points to the upper right toward Polaris,
planet Earth's North Star.
