Ursa Minor, commonly referred to as the Little Bear, is a constellation in the Northern Sky. Its Latin name translates to "Lesser Bear" in contrast to Ursa Major. The Little Bear, which has seven stars with four in its bowl-like its mate the Big Dipper, is known in North America as the Little Dipper. Like the Great Bear, its tail can also be perceived as the handle of a ladle. Claudius Ptolemy, a second-century astronomer, recognised forty-eight constellations, and Ursa Minor is still one of the eighty-eight contemporary constellations. Polaris' position as the north pole star has historically made Ursa Minor crucial for navigation, especially for sailors.
With an apparent magnitude varying from 1.97 to 2.00, Polaris, the brightest star in the constellation, is a yellow-white supergiant and the brightest Cepheid variable star in the night sky. With an apparent brightness of 2.08, Beta Ursae Minoris, also known as Kochab, is a fading star that has swelled and cooled to become an orange giant. It is only marginally fainter than Polaris. The "guardians of the pole star" or "Guardians of The Pole" are Kochab and the 3rd-magnitude Gamma Ursae Minoris. (Arnold et al., 1999) Four of the stars, including Kochab, have planets in their orbits, according to research. The constellation is also home to the hottest white dwarf yet found, H1504+65, with a surface temperature of 200,000 K, as well as the isolated neutron star Calvera. |
Camelopardalis, Draco, and Cepheus are all around Ursa Minor on its western, western, and eastern sides, respectively. Its 256 square degrees area places it 56th in terms of size among the eighty-eight constellations. Because the constellation Ursa Minor's seven brightest stars appear to take the appearance of a dipper, it is commonly referred to as the Little Dipper in the US (ladle or scoop). Polaris is the star at the tip of the dipper handle. Another way to find Polaris is to draw a line across the two stars Alpha and Beta Ursae Majoris, often known as the Pointers, which make up the tip of the Big Dipper's "bowl" and extend 30 degrees (three upright fists at arms' length) across the night sky. (O’Meara 1998) The Little Dipper's bowl is made up of four stars that are second, third, fourth, and fifth magnitudes, respectively. These stars serve as an easy reference for figuring out what magnitude stars are visible, which is helpful for city dwellers or for testing one's vision. (Olcott 2012)
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) chose the three-letter designation "UMi" for the constellation in 1922. (Russell 1922) A polygon with twenty-two segments defines the recognised constellation limits, which Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte established in 1930. Right ascension values for these borders in the equatorial coordinate system vary from 08h 41.4m to 22h 54.0m, while declination coordinates span from the north celestial pole to 65.40° in the south. Only observers in the northern hemisphere may see the entire constellation due to its location in the far northern celestial hemisphere.
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) chose the three-letter designation "UMi" for the constellation in 1922. (Russell 1922) A polygon with twenty-two segments defines the recognised constellation limits, which Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte established in 1930. Right ascension values for these borders in the equatorial coordinate system vary from 08h 41.4m to 22h 54.0m, while declination coordinates span from the north celestial pole to 65.40° in the south. Only observers in the northern hemisphere may see the entire constellation due to its location in the far northern celestial hemisphere.
History and Mythology
Ursa Minor was referred to as the "Wagon of Heaven" in the Babylonian star catalogues (MULMAR.GÍD.DA.AN.NA, also connected to the goddess Damkina). It is recorded in the "Stars of Enlil," or the northern sky, section of the MUL.APIN inventory, which was created circa 1000 BC. (Rogers 1998) Thales of Miletus "calculated the stars of the Wagon by which the Phoenicians navigate," claims Diogenes Lartius, quoting Callimachus. These are recognised by Diogenes as the constellation Ursa Minor, commonly known as Phoinik due to the Phoenicians' purported use of it for maritime navigation. (Albright 1972) Homer only mentions one "bear," but the habit of referring to the northern constellations as "bears" seems to have Greek roots. (Bloomberg 2007) Thus, Ursa Major is the original "bear," and Ursa Minor was only later acknowledged as the second bear, or "Phoenician Bear" (Ursa Phoenicia, hence v, Phoenice), according to Strabo (I.1.6, C3), as a result of a suggestion made by Thales, who suggested it as a navigational aid to the Greeks, who had been using Ursa Major. Because of the celestial pole's proximity to Beta Ursae Minoris relative to Alpha Ursae Minoris during ancient antiquity, the entire constellation was interpreted as denoting the north. Alpha Ursae Minoris (also known as "Polaris") has been used as the North Star since the Middle Ages, even though it is still several degrees away from the celestial pole. (Kenneth 2013) Only in the early modern era was its New Latin name, Stella Polaris, developed. The constellation's prehistoric name is Cynosura (Greek o, "dog's tail"). The name's origin is unknown because Ursa Minor's resemblance to a dog's tail would suggest that a neighbouring constellation is "the dog," but no such constellation is recognised. |
Instead, according to Catasterismi mythology, the name Cynosura refers to an Oread nymph who was honoured by Zeus with a position in the sky and described as the god's nurse. There are numerous theories put out to explain the name Cynosura. One theory links it to the myth of Callisto, in which Zeus elevated her dog to the heavens in exchange for her son Arcas. Others have proposed that an ancient understanding of Ursa Major saw it as a cow, with Boötes acting as the herdsman and Ursa Minor as the dog.
According to George William Cox, it is a variant of the letter "o," which is supposed to mean "wolf's tail," but which he etymologizes as "trail, or train, of light" (i.e., "wolf" vs. "light"). Allen compares the name of the constellation to drag-blod, which means "fire track" in Old Irish. The name's non-Greek origin was proposed by Brown (1899) as a borrowing from the Assyrian Annas-surra "high-rising."
An alternate story claims that two bears hid Zeus on Mount Ida to protect him from his evil father Cronus. Later, Zeus set them in the sky, but because of being swung into the air by the god, their tails became long. (Rogers 1998)
The Latin term for "north" (i.e., where Polaris points) derives from the words septem (seven) and triones (oxen), from seven oxen ploughing a plough, which the seven stars also resemble. This is because Ursa Minor is made up of seven stars. The major stars of Ursa Major have also been given this name. (Wagman 2003)
Although the phrase is more usually used in the singular to refer to Polaris alone, the three brightest stars in Inuit astronomy—Polaris, Kochab, and Pherkad—were known as Nuutuittut, or "never moving." At extremely northern latitudes, the Pole Star is too high in the sky to be useful for navigation. (MacDonald 1998) Chinese astrology divides the major stars of Ursa Minor into two asterisms: Guchén (Curved Array) (which includes α UMi, δ UMi, ε UMi, ζ UMi, η UMi, θ UMi, λ UMi) and 北極 Bij (Northern Pole) (which includes β UMi and γ UMi).).
According to George William Cox, it is a variant of the letter "o," which is supposed to mean "wolf's tail," but which he etymologizes as "trail, or train, of light" (i.e., "wolf" vs. "light"). Allen compares the name of the constellation to drag-blod, which means "fire track" in Old Irish. The name's non-Greek origin was proposed by Brown (1899) as a borrowing from the Assyrian Annas-surra "high-rising."
An alternate story claims that two bears hid Zeus on Mount Ida to protect him from his evil father Cronus. Later, Zeus set them in the sky, but because of being swung into the air by the god, their tails became long. (Rogers 1998)
The Latin term for "north" (i.e., where Polaris points) derives from the words septem (seven) and triones (oxen), from seven oxen ploughing a plough, which the seven stars also resemble. This is because Ursa Minor is made up of seven stars. The major stars of Ursa Major have also been given this name. (Wagman 2003)
Although the phrase is more usually used in the singular to refer to Polaris alone, the three brightest stars in Inuit astronomy—Polaris, Kochab, and Pherkad—were known as Nuutuittut, or "never moving." At extremely northern latitudes, the Pole Star is too high in the sky to be useful for navigation. (MacDonald 1998) Chinese astrology divides the major stars of Ursa Minor into two asterisms: Guchén (Curved Array) (which includes α UMi, δ UMi, ε UMi, ζ UMi, η UMi, θ UMi, λ UMi) and 北極 Bij (Northern Pole) (which includes β UMi and γ UMi).).
Deep-sky Objects
Main stars - 7
Bayer stars - 23
Stars with planets - 4
Stars brighter than magnitude 3.00 - 3
Stars within 32 Ly - 0
Messier objects - 0
Meteor showers - Ursids
Bordering
constellations
- NGC 3172 – Lenticular Galaxy
- NGC 6217 – Barred Spiral Galaxy
- NGC 6251 – Supergiant Elliptical Radio Galaxy (Seyfert Galaxy)
- IC 3568 – Lemon Slice Nebula – Planetary Nebula
- Polaris – The closest star to the northern pole (although slowly moving away)
Main stars - 7
Bayer stars - 23
Stars with planets - 4
Stars brighter than magnitude 3.00 - 3
Stars within 32 Ly - 0
Messier objects - 0
Meteor showers - Ursids
Bordering
constellations
- Draco
- Camelopardalis
- Cepheus