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Ursa Major, also known as the Great Bear, is a constellation in the northern sky, whose associated mythology likely dates back into prehistory.Its Latin name means "greater (or larger) bear", referring to and contrasting it with nearby Ursa Minor, the lesser bear. [1]
Ursa is a Latin word meaning bear. Derivatives of this word are ursine or Ursini. Ursa or URSA may also refer to: General.
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 asterism's prominence on the north of the night sky produced the adjective "septentrional" (literally, pertaining to seven plow oxen) in Romance languages and English, meaning "Northern [Hemisphere]". "Follow the Drinkin' Gourd" is an African American folk song first published in 1928. The "Drinkin' Gourd" is thought to refer to the Big Dipper.
Bear taxon names such as Arctoidea and Helarctos come from the ancient Greek ἄρκτος (arktos), meaning bear, [7] as do the names "arctic" and "antarctic", via the name of the constellation Ursa Major, the "Great Bear", prominent in the northern sky. [8] Bear taxon names such as Ursidae and Ursus come from Latin Ursus/Ursa, he-bear/she ...
Due to the asynchrony of oestrous phases and lengthy parental care by females, bear populations are usually male-biased, meaning that females are more choosy and males are more competitive. [12] Intra-sexual selection is then characterized by male-male competitions influenced by female mate choice .
It is designated α Ursae Minoris (Latinized to Alpha Ursae Minoris) and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that fluctuates around 1.98, [ 3 ] it is the brightest star in the constellation and is readily visible to the naked eye at night. [ 15 ]
ο Ursae Majoris (1 Ursae Majoris), this name is IAU-approved; π Ursae Majoris, an optical double star consisting of: π¹ Ursae Majoris (3 Ursae Majoris) π² Ursae Majoris (4 Ursae Majoris) The name derives from the post classical Latin musus, meaning "snout, or muzzle [of the bear]".