The Bear in the Stars

Product Information

Leo and Leo Minor to the south. Lynx to the southwest and Camelopardalis to the northwest. From southern temperate latitudes, the Big Dipper is unable to be seen. However, some of the southern parts of the constellation can be seen. Ursa Major, also known as the Great Bear, is the largest constellation in the northern hemisphere’s sky. It is the third-largest out of the 88 constellations in the sky. One of the few star groups mentioned in the Bible (Job 9:9; 38:32; – Orion and the Pleiades being others), Ursa Major was also pictured as a bear by the Jewish peoples. "The Bear" was translated as "Arcturus" in the Vulgate and it persisted in the King James Version of the Bible.

Ursa Major is the third largest constellation in the sky, occupying an area of 1280 square degrees. It is located in the second quadrant of the northern hemisphere (NQ2) and can be seen at latitudes between +90° and -30°. The neighboring constellations are Boötes, Camelopardalis, Canes Venatici, Coma Berenices, Draco, Leo, Leo Minor and Lynx.In Hindu legend, the brightest stars represent the Seven Sages. The Hindus termed the constellation as Saptarshi. The sages are Bhrigu, Atri, Angirasa, Vasishta, Pulastya, Pulalaha and Kratu. Ursa Major contains a number of prominent stars. The constellation is primarily known from the asterism which is formed by the constellations seven main stars. Big Dipper Stars: In Shinto, the seven largest stars of Ursa Major belong to Ame-no-Minakanushi, the oldest and most powerful of all kami. She soon discovers a world that is growing hotter whilst hearts grow colder - until one small act of kindness changes everything.

The Wampanoag people (Algonquian) referred to Ursa Major as "maske", meaning "bear" according to Thomas Morton in The New England Canaan. [46] In Hindu legend, the brightest stars of Ursa Major represent the Seven Sages and the constellation is known as Saptarshi. The sages in question are Bhrigu, Atri, Angirasa, Vasishta, Pulastya, Pulalaha and Kratu. Gamma Ursae Majoris is the lower left star in the bowl of the Big Dipper. It belongs to the Ursa Major Moving Group. The star’s traditional name, Phecda (or Phad), is derived from the Arabic phrase fakhð ad-dubb, which means “the thigh of the bear.”This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sourcesin this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( April 2019) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Look towards the northern horizon if you know your direction, or just scan the skies and look for seven stars that make up the shape of a saucepan.There is another binary system about 90,000 AU away from the main pair, which makes Alpha Ursae Majoris a four star system. Merak – β Ursae Majoris (Beta Ursae Majoris) What's more, the angle of the star above the horizon gives you your latitude (north-south position on the Earth’s surface). For years, sailors relied on the North Star for navigating at sea, with the help of instruments like quadrants and astrolabes. Finding Polaris The seven stars that form the Big Dipper are Dubhe (Alpha Ursae Majoris), Merak (Beta UMa), Phecda (Gamma UMa), Megrez (Delta UMa), Alioth (Epsilon UMa), Mizar (Zeta UMa), and Alkaid (Eta UMa). Alioth – ε Ursae Majoris (Epsilon Ursae Majoris) They are imprisoned and taken to King Lycaon as a gift. However, the mother and son are able to escape and take refuge in the temple of Zeus. Not realizing that their trespassing is punishable by death, Zeus comes and intervenes to save them by placing them both in the sky. The Romans called the constellation Septentrio, or “seven plough oxen,” even though only two of the seven stars represented oxen, while the others formed a wagon.

NGC 3310 is another starburst spiral galaxy located 50 million light-years from Earth. Its bright white color is caused by its higher than usual rate of star formation, which began 100million years ago after a merger. Studies of this and other starburst galaxies have shown that their starburst phase can last for hundreds of millions of years, far longer than was previously assumed. [19] The easiest way to find Cygnus is to look for an asterism called the Northern Cross which is a group of stars in a simple cross shape. The other stars in the constellation of Cygnus are extensions of this cross shape. However, it was Zeus’ jealous wife Hera, who was not amused by her husband’s philandering, who would do even more damage. Angered by Zeus’ betrayal, she turned Callisto into a bear. The Wasco-Wishram Native Americans interpreted the constellation as five wolves and two bears that were left in the sky by Coyote. [47] Germanic traditions [ edit ]Ursa Major constellation belongs to the Ursa Major family of constellations. This family of constellations consists of Boötes, Camelopardalis, Canes Venatici, Coma Berenices, Corona Borealis, Draco, Leo Minor, Lynx, and Ursa Minor. 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. In particular, the Big Dipper's stellar configuration mimics the shape of the " Little Dipper". Two of its stars, named Dubhe and Merak ( α Ursae Majoris and β Ursae Majoris), can be used as the navigational pointer towards the place of the current northern pole star, Polaris in Ursa Minor. In episode 3, Sydney makes a new hire to the new restaurant’s kitchen crew, who happens to be the former Saturday Night Live cast member, who left the series in 2022 after six seasons. It doesn’t hurt that he is also a Chicago native. Rob Levitt Ursae Majoris, or Megrez, meaning "root of the tail", referring to its location as the intersection of the body and tail of the bear (or the ladle and handle of the dipper). Allen, R. H. (1963). Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning (Reprinted.). New York, NY: Dover Publications Inc. pp. 207–208. ISBN 978-0-486-21079-7 . Retrieved 2010-12-12.