Ptolemy named the constellations in Greek, Ἄρκτος μεγάλη (Arktos Megale) or the great bears. Two of the stars, Dubhe and Merak, are pointer stars. This is one of the best-known features of the sky. Ursa Major’s seven brightest stars form a saucepan shape, popularly known as the Plough (or Big Dipper). [17] SN 2014J, an apparent Type Ia supernova, was observed in M82 on 21 January 2014. [17], I Zwicky 18 is a young dwarf galaxy at a distance of 45 million light-years. Callisto, while in bear form, later encounters her son Arcas. Polaris – North Star – α Ursae Minoris (Alpha Ursae Minoris) Polaris, the closest bright star to the north celestial pole since the High Middle Ages, is the brightest star in Ursa Minor. mag. [33] Juno then transforms the beautiful Callisto into a bear so she no longer attracts Jupiter. Ursa Major may look like the Great Bear now, or a Big Dipper, but this was not always the case. Star . [a] It is mentioned by such poets as Homer, Spenser, Shakespeare, Tennyson and also by Federico Garcia Lorca, in "Song for the Moon". deg. Ursa Major covers 1279.66 square degrees or 3.10% of the total sky, making it the third largest constellation. It is the naked-eye companion to Mizar, the middle star …  • Var = Variable star designation [26][27] It may be mentioned in the biblical book of Job, dated between the 7th and 4th centuries BC, although this is often disputed. Ursa Major contains the famous asterism known as the Big Dipper (or, in Britain, the Plough), which is made from the stars Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta and Eta UMa (Fig 2 and 3). If you know of a star that is nearer or further then do let me know in the comments and I'll add it to the site. Ptolemy listed Ursa Major and Ursa Minor as one of 48 constellations in one of the earliest surviving books on astronomy. Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Delaware Facts & Symbols – Delaware Miscellaneous Symbols", "Ptolemy's Almagest First printed edition, 1515", The cosmic hunt: variants of a Siberian – North-American myth, Un ours dans les étoiles: recherche phylogénétique sur un mythe préhistorique, A Cosmic Hunt in the Berber sky : a phylogenetic reconstruction of Palaeolithic mythology, "The Myths of Ursa Major, The Great Bear | AAVSO", "English-Chinese Glossary of Chinese Star Regions, Asterisms and Star Names", "Archived representation of H.A. This article was most recently revised and updated by Erik Gregersen, Senior Editor. In particular, the Big Dipper's stellar configuration mimics the shape of the "Little Dipper." Ursa Major is a constellation that can be seen in the northern hemisphere and part of the southern hemisphere. It was discovered in 1781 by Pierre Méchain. Ursa Major, the Big Bear, is one of the most familiar constellations. [22], Ursa Major has been reconstructed as an Indo-European constellation. The fact that the two front stars of the constellations point to the pole star is explained as the boon given to the boy sage Dhruva by Lord Vishnu.[37]. Ursa Major . The constellation of Ursa Minor, just like its grander counterpart, Ursa Major, is marked by the famous asterism, the Little Dipper. Ursa Major is the site of the well-known double star Mizor and Alcor, located in the middle of the dipper's handle. It is the naked-eye companion to Mizar, the middle star in the handle of the… Unlike most lenticular galaxies, NGC 2787 has a bar at its center.  • RA = Right ascension for the Epoch/Equinox J2000.0 An alternate version has Arcas become the constellation Boötes. = absolute magnitude (Mv) ( Archives of Pearson Scott Foresman) The written history of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor goes back thousands of years. [5] Six of the seven stars are of second magnitude or higher, and it forms one of the best-known patterns in the sky. Es una nebulosa muy compleja cuya edad estimada es de aproximadamente 6000 años. Interesting Stars. Ursa Major (/ˈɜːrsə ˈmeɪdʒər/; also known as the Great Bear) is a constellation in the northern sky, whose associated mythology likely dates back into prehistory. Ursa Major Stars. The youngest-known galaxy in the visible universe, I Zwicky 18 is about 4 million years old, about one-thousandth the age of the Solar System. [25] Ancient Finnish poetry also refers to the constellation, and it features in the painting Starry Night Over the Rhône by Vincent van Gogh. W Ursae Majoris is the prototype of a class of contact binary variable stars, and ranges between 7.75m and 8.48m. The Ursa Minor Dwarf galaxy has an apparent magnitude of 11.9. In the context of Ursa Major, they are commonly drawn to represent the hindquarters and tail of the Great Bear. In South Korea, the constellation is referred to as "the seven stars of the north." MAJOR STARS IN URSA MINOR. [/caption] The northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Major is perhaps one of the oldest and most recognized of all. Notable Star. The outline of the seven bright stars of Ursa Major form the asterism known as the "Big Dipper" in the United States and Canada, while in the United Kingdom it is called the Plough or (historically) Charles' Wain . The same can be said of the seven stars pictured in the bordure azure of the coat of arms of Madrid, capital of that country. Ursa Major is full of unique celestial objects. In this blog post , the author lists myths going back even farther in history. In ancient times the name of the constellation was Helike, ("turning"), because it turns around the Pole. Ursa Major is best known as the home of the Big Dipper. It was spotted by Ptolemy at first and part of his 48 known constellations list. It forms the Big Dipper."[32]. The brightest star in Ursa Major is Alioth and is located about 128.87 light years from the Sun. [12] 47 Ursae Majoris b, discovered in 1996, orbits every 1078 days and is 2.53 times the mass of Jupiter. Rey's asterism for Ursa Major", The Deep Photographic Guide to the Constellations: Ursa Major, The Origin of the Greek Constellations (paywalled), Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (over 180 medieval and early modern images of Ursa Major), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ursa_Major&oldid=1001316186, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from The American Cyclopaedia, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from The American Cyclopaedia with a Wikisource reference, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from April 2019, All articles needing additional references, Articles containing Japanese-language text, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-VIAF identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Alkaid (Eta Ursae Majoris) has several nicknames: "Sword", This page was last edited on 19 January 2021, at 04:31. Its center is around 225,000 light-years away from Earth. These five stars are Mizar, Merak, Alioth, Megrez, and Phecda. Nearby, marking the bear's ear, is a small group of stars made up of sigma 1, sigma 2, and rho.Our constellation map marks the spot simply with a lower-case sigma. By visually tracing a line from Merak through Dubhe (1 unit) and continuing for 5 units, one's eye will land on Polaris, accurately indicating true north. Arcas almost shoots the bear, but to avert the tragedy, Jupiter turns Arcas into a bear too and puts them both in the sky, forming Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. [34] The Odyssey notes that it is the sole constellation that never sinks below the horizon and "bathes in the Ocean's waves," so it is used as a celestial reference point for navigation. Polaris is the brightest star in the constellation of Ursa Minor. It also has a halo of globular clusters, indicating its age and relative stability.[17]. The Ursa Major constellation, also known as the Big Dipper or the Great Bear, points the way to the North Star, Polaris. [31] Using statistical and phylogenetic tools, Julien d'Huy reconstructs the following Palaeolithic state of the story: "There is an animal that is a horned herbivore, especially an elk. Ursa Major spans 65 degrees of the Zodiac in the Sign of Cancer, Leo and Virgo, and contains 18 named fixed stars. Abbreviation: UMa Size ranking: 3rd Origin: One of the 48 Greek constellations listed by Ptolemy in the Almagest Greek name: Ἄρκτος Μεγάλη (Arktos Megale) Undoubtedly the most familiar star pattern in the entire sky is the seven stars that make up the shape popularly termed the Plough or Big Dipper, part of the third-largest constellation, Ursa Major, the Great Bear. "[43], In Theosophy, it is believed that the Seven Stars of the Pleiades focus the spiritual energy of the Seven Rays from the Galactic Logos to the Seven Stars of the Great Bear, then to Sirius, then to the Sun, then to the god of Earth (Sanat Kumara), and finally through the seven Masters of the Seven Rays to the human race.[44].  • Notes = Common name(s) or alternate name(s); comments; notable properties [for example: multiple star status, range of variability if it is a variable star, exoplanets, etc. The three-letter constellation abbreviation "UMa" was adopted by the IAU in 1922.[2]. Ursa Major is primarily known from the asterism of its main seven stars, which has been called the "Big Dipper," "the Wagon," "Charles's Wain," or "the Plough," among other names. Five of the seven stars in the Big Dipper are believed to have originated together at the same time from a single cloud of gas and dust and they move together in space as part of a family of stars. Seven stars form the Big Dipper, the well-known asterism in Ursa Major, which is among the oldest recognized patterns in the sky. Sold by Ursa Major Natural Skin Care and ships from Amazon Fulfillment. In the Finnish language, the asterism is sometimes called by its old Finnish name, Otava. This constellation was mentioned in the Bible and depicted by Vincent Van Gogh. This constellation also contains the noted visual double of Mizar and Alcor, which sit in the middle of the Big Dipper. It seems that these stars are lost "former" cluster members which have their origin in the Ursa Major cluster, but escaped due to mutual encounters, tidal forces of the Milky Way, or encounters with large interstellar clouds and other clusters. In this case, the constellation is Ursa Major, Latin for the Great Bear. Seven stars form the Big Dipper, the well-known asterism in Ursa Major, which is among the oldest recognized patterns in the sky. The constellation of Ursa Major, the Great Bear, is best viewed in Spring during the month of April. Ursa Major Stencils sells paper stencils to help you paint basketball courts, starry skies and more. Ursa Major is visible throughout the year from most of the northern hemisphere, and appears circumpolar above the mid-northern latitudes. The Ursa major Star The Ursa Major Big Dipper and Appearance If you have ever seen the big dipper in the sky, then you have already seen part of the Ursa Major constellation. n. A constellation in the region of the north celestial pole near Draco and Leo, containing the seven stars that form the Big Dipper. The Bright Star Catalogue in Ursa Major. Along with M82, it is a part of the galaxy cluster closest to the Local Group. It is a prominent pattern of bright stars and is circumpolar for mid-northern to polar latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. Majoris c, discovered in 1996, orbits every 1078 days and is located about 128.87 light years the! 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