Ursa Minor Constellation | Constellations In The Northern Hemisphere

URSA MINOR CONSTELLATION – In this topic, we are going to know and learn about the constellation Ursa Minor, the Smaller Bear.

It is a constellation in the northern sky. It means “the smaller bear” or “the lesser bear in Latin.

The constellation is easily recognized for its famous Little Dipper asterism. It is also well known for Polaris, the North Star, which is located at the end of the dipper’s handle. Polaris marks the location of the north celestial pole.

It was believed to have been created by Thales of Miletus, who is one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Tales was said to be of Phoenician descent. Phoenicians used Ursa Minor in navigation due to its excellency in guiding to True North. Due to this, the Greeks call this the Phoenician

It was also formerly known as the Dog’s Tail, or Cynosura.

It is the 56th largest constellation which occupies an area of 637 square degrees. It lies in 256 , the third quadrant of the northern hemisphere.

It belongs to the Ursa Major family, along with Coma Berenices, Boötes, Camelopardalis, Canes Venatici, Corona Borealis, Draco, Leo Minor, Lynx, and Ursa Major.

In Greek mythology, Ursa Minor represents Ida, the nymph who took care of Zeus on the island of Crete when he was small. It also represents Arcas, son of Zeus and the nymph Callisto.

Stars

Among the stars include: