Syndication News Column:
Ursa Major – Ursa Minor – North Star

Ursa Major – typically known as the “Big Dipper” – is seen here in the Northern sky.
(This image was provided courtesy of Mr. Felix Wolf through Pixabay.)

As people in earlier civilizations looked to the skies, they imagined seeing animals and other things among the stars. In the case of these two constellations, individuals saw bears: “Ursa Major” is Latin for “Greater Bear” or the “Great Bear”, while “Ursa Minor” is Latin for “Little Bear” or “Lesser Bear.” (There are modest differences between some translations of words from Latin to English.)

Many Americans know these constellations as the “Big Dipper” and the “Little Dipper”, respectively. The “dipper” name has been applied to these constellations based on the images that present by connecting the stars within Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. You can view the “Big Dipper” image in the above photograph.

Polaris – also known as the “North Star” – is part of Ursa Minor. “At present, the star known as Polaris is the North Star,” according to a statement from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). “However, Polaris has not always been the North Star and will not always be the North Star…Right now, the Earth's rotation axis happens to be pointing almost exactly at Polaris. But in the year 3000 B.C., the North Star was a star called Thuban (also known as “Alpha Draconis”), and in about 13,000 years from now the precession of the rotation axis will mean that the bright star Vega will be the North Star. Don't feel bad for Polaris, however, because in 26,000 more years it will once again be the Pole Star.”

This image shows Ursa Major as the constellation of the Great Bear. “Over the years, the star at the end of the tail
has been known by two popular names, Alkaid and Benetnasch,” according to International Astronomical Union
(IAU). “On this card it is called Benetnasch, but the IAU Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) has chosen the
more common alternative of Alkaid as its official name. Among the star names on this 1824 map of Ursa Major
that are recognized by the IAU as official proper names are Alcor, Alioth, Dubhe, Megrez, Merak, and Mizar.”
(This image was from “Urania’s Mirror,” a set of constellation cards published by Mr. Samuel Leigh
in England in 1824 and was provided courtesy of the IAU.)

This image shows some of the constellations of stars in the Northern night sky. You can view Ursa Major
near the center right in the drawing; Ursa Minor can be viewed in the center of the drawing.
(This image was provided courtesy of A Beginner's Star-Book: An Easy Guide to the Stars and to
the Astronomical Uses of the Opera-Glass, the Field-Glass and the Telescope through Flickr, 1912.)

© 2020 Richard McDonough