Constellation Ursa Major

Ursa Major is one of the largest constellations in the sky, and is also the most famous constellation with the exception of Orion. It is known as the Great Bear. It has a companion named Ursa Minor. A section of Ursa Major, the plough or the big Dipper can be used to find the three first magnitude stars in spring skies. The body and tail of the bear make up what is called the big Dipper. Ursa Major is also called names such as the Plough, Wain and Wagon. Following the round curve of the bear's tail the handle of the Dipper leads to Arcturus. Two stars of Ursa Major, Dubhe and Merak are pointer stars. If you are looking at the Big Dipper, the outer edge stars that make up the “bowl” of the Dipper are actually two stars. Merak is on the top.

If you connect a line between the two and extend north about five times the distance between them, it will connect with the North Star, Polaris. Here is one of the ancient Greek stories on how the Great Bear ended up in the sky. One day, Hera discovered that Zeus was having an “affair” with Callisto. Hera turned Callisto into a bear. Zeus put Callisto in the sky with her son, Arcas who was the little bear. According to an Iroquois legend seven “starry” warriors hunted the bear all summer long. In Greek mythology, a star represented a guardian. Arcturus kept bears from “straying” from their path. Most constellations are circumpolar which means it can be viewed all year long. Parts of the legs of the bear will disappear from the sky in fall and in winter they will reappear.