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Ursa Minor (Latin for 'Lesser Bear', contrasting with Ursa Major), also known as the Little Bear, is a constellation located in the far northern sky.As with the Great Bear, the tail of the Little Bear may also be seen as the handle of a ladle, hence the North American name, Little Dipper: seven stars with four in its bowl like its partner the Big Dipper.
The Big Dipper seen from Fujian. The constellation of Ursa Major (Latin: Greater Bear) has been seen as a bear, a wagon, or a ladle.The "bear" tradition is Indo-European (appearing in Greek, as well as in Vedic India), [7] but apparently the name "bear" has parallels in Siberian or North American traditions.
[1] [2] For example, the asterism known as the Big Dipper or the Plough comprises the seven brightest stars in the constellation Ursa Major. Another asterism is the triangle, within the constellation of Capricornus. Asterisms range from simple shapes of just a few stars to more complex collections of many stars covering large portions of the sky.
Megrez / ˈ m iː ɡ r ɛ z /, also called Delta Ursae Majoris (δ Ursae Majoris, abbreviated Delta UMa, δ UMa), [9] [10] is a star in the northern constellation of Ursa Major.With an apparent magnitude of +3.3, [2] it is the dimmest of the seven stars in the Big Dipper asterism.
Alcor (/ ˈ æ l k ɔːr /) [8] is a binary star system in the constellation of Ursa Major. It is the fainter companion of Mizar, the two stars forming a naked eye double in the handle of the Big Dipper (or Plough) asterism in Ursa Major. The two lie about 83 light-years away from the Sun, as measured by the Hipparcos astrometry satellite.
Comet E3 will be found between the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper in the final nights of January leading up to its closest encounter with the Earth on Feb. 1.
The asterism of the Big Dipper (shown in this star map in green) lies within the constellation of Ursa Major. Septentrional, meaning "of the north", is a Latinate adjective sometimes used in English. It is a form of the Latin noun septentriones, which refers to the seven stars of the Plough (Big Dipper), occasionally called the Septentrion.
Kochab / ˈ k oʊ k æ b /, Bayer designation Beta Ursae Minoris (β Ursae Minoris, abbreviated β UMi, Beta UMi), [10] [11] is the brightest star in the bowl of the Little Dipper asterism (which is part of the constellation of Ursa Minor), and only slightly fainter than Polaris, the northern pole star and brightest star in Ursa Minor.