Message about a little bear. The constellation Ursa Major and Ursa Minor in the sky: a list of stars, how to find, legends and description

> Ursa Minor

How to find constellation Ursa Minor in the northern hemisphere: description with photo, diagram and map of the starry sky, facts, myth, asterism Small Bucket and polar Star.

Ursa Minor - constellation, which is located in the northern sky and from Latin "Ursa Minor" means "lesser bear".

The constellation Ursa Minor appeared in the sky in the second century thanks to Ptolemy. It is easy to find by its famous asterism or location at the north celestial pole. At the end of the bucket handle you can see the North Star.

Although Ptolemy wrote it down, the authorship of the creation is given to Thales from Miletus (lived between 625 and 545 BC). He was called one of the 7 Greek sages. But there is an option that he simply opened it to the Greeks, and the Phoenicians, who used the bucket for navigation, also found it. The Greeks even called it Phoenician until it became Ursa Minor (previously also called Dog's Tail).

Facts, position and map of the constellation Ursa Minor

With an area of 256 square degrees, the constellation Ursa Minor ranks 56th in size. Covers the third quadrant in the northern hemisphere (NQ3). It can be found in latitudes from +90° to -10°. Adjacent to , and .

Ursa Minor
Lat. Name	Ursa Minor
Reduction	UMi
Symbol	bear cub
right ascension	from 0 h 00 m to 24 h 00 m
declination	from +66° to +90°
Square	256 sq. degrees (56th place)
brightest stars (value< 3 m )	Pole Star (α UMi) - 2.02 m Cohab (β UMi) - 2.08 m
meteor showers	Ursids
neighboring constellations	The Dragon Giraffe Cepheus
The constellation is visible at latitudes from +90° to −0°. The best time to watch is all year round.

Holds a star with a planet and no Messier object. The brightest star is Polaris (Alpha Ursa Minor), whose apparent visual magnitude reaches 1.97. Eat meteor shower- Ursids. Belongs to the group Ursa Major together with , and . Consider the diagram of the constellation Ursa Minor on the map of the starry sky.

The myth of the constellation Ursa Minor

About Ursa Minor there are two different stories. In the first we are talking about Ida. This is a nymph who raised Zeus when he was small, on the island of Crete. Native matter Rhea had to hide it from Kronos (father), who, because of the prophecy, killed all his children. As soon as Zeus was born, she planted a stone instead of him and deceived her husband. The prophecy has come true. The son overthrew his father and freed his brothers and sisters, who became Olympic gods.

Another story tells of Arkas. This is the son of Zeus and Callisto (nymph). She was devoted to Artemis and refused ties to men. But she could not resist Zeus. When Hera found out about the betrayal, in a rage she turned the girl into a bear. Callisto had to wander through the forest for 15 years until she saw the adult Arkas. He got scared and took out his spear. Zeus managed in time and sent a whirlwind that lifted both to heaven. Callisto became Ursa Major, and Arkas became Ursa Minor. But most often it is still attributed to Bootes.

There is an even more ancient myth, according to which 7 stars displayed the Hesperides - the daughters of Atlas, guarding the apples in the garden of Hera.

Asterism

The Small Dipper is created by the stars: Polaris, Yildun, Epsilon, Eta, Zeta, Gamma and Beta.

The main stars of the constellation Ursa Minor

Explore the bright stars of the constellation Ursa Minor in the northern hemisphere with detailed description, photo and characteristic.

polar Star(Alpha Ursa Minor) is a multiple star (F7:Ib-II) with an apparent magnitude of 1.985 and a distance of 434 light years. This is the closest bright star to the north celestial pole since the Middle Ages and the brightest in Ursa Minor.

To find it, you need to follow Dubhe and Merak (the two brightest at the end of the Ursa Major asterism).

Represented by the bright object A, two smaller companion stars B and Ab, and two distant stars C and D.

The brightest body is a giant (II) or supergiant (Ib) with a spectral type of F8. It has 6 times the mass of the sun. In 1780, William Herschel found B, a main sequence (F3) star, and Ab, a dwarf in a very close orbit.

The North Star is a population variable of I Cephei. In 1911, its variability was confirmed by the Danish astronomer Einar Hertzsprung. At the time of Ptolemy's observations, it was a magnitude 3 star, but today it is a magnitude 2. Due to its brightness and proximity to the pole, it is an essential tool in celestial navigation.

Kohab(Beta Ursa Minor) is a giant (K4 III) with a visual magnitude of 2.08 (brightest in the bowl) and a distance of 130.9 light years. Beta and Gamma are sometimes called Guardians of the Pole because they seem to revolve around Polaris.

From 1500 BC before 500 AD they were twin stars, being the closest bright stars to the north celestial pole. Kokhab is 130 times brighter than the Sun and 2.2 times larger in mass.

The traditional name comes from the Arabic al-kawkab - "star" and is an abbreviation of al-kawkab al-šamāliyy - "northern star".

Ferkad(Gamma Ursa Minor) - type A star with apparent magnitude 3.05 and a distance of 487 light years. It is classified as A3 lab, and the rotation speed reaches 180 km / s. The radius is 15 times greater than the sun and 1.100 times brighter.

It is a shell star that has a gaseous disk at the equator, which leads to changes in magnitude.

The name means "calf" in Arabic.

Yildun(Delta Ursa Minor) - white dwarf main sequence (A1V) with a visual magnitude of 4.35 and a distance of 183 light years. The traditional name from Turkish is translated as "star".

Zeta Ursa Minor is a main sequence dwarf (A3Vn) with a visual magnitude of 4.32 and a distance of 380 light years. In fact, it is on the verge of becoming a giant: 3.4 times the solar mass, 200 times brighter. Surface temperature- 8700 K. This is a suspected Delta Shield variable.

From Arabic aḫfa al-farqadayn means "leader of two calves".

This Ursa Minor is a yellow-white main sequence dwarf (F5 V) with a visual magnitude of 4.95 and a distance of 97.3 light years. It can be found without the use of technology.

Translated from Arabic as "brighter than two calves."

Epsilon Ursa Minor- triple star system, 347 light years away. Presented is A, a G-type yellow giant (eclipsing spectroscopic double star) and B is an 11th magnitude star with a distance of 77 arc seconds.

Epsilon A is also type variable RS Beagle Dogs. The brightness of the binary system changes due to the fact that one object periodically covers the second. The overall brightness varies from magnitude 4.19 to 4.23 with a period of 39.48 days.

Celestial objects of the constellation Ursa Minor

Ursa Minor(PGC 54074, UGC 9749) is a dwarf elliptical galaxy with an apparent magnitude of 11.9 and a distance of 200,000 light years. It's a satellite galaxy Milky Way. Most of the stars are old and hardly noticeable star formation.

The constellation Ursa Minor (Ursa Minor) is a circumpolar constellation in the northern hemisphere of the sky. It occupies an area of 255.9 square degrees in the sky and contains 25 visible stars. naked eye. The North Pole of the World is currently located in Ursa Minor, at an angular distance of 40 ′ from.
Ursa Minor is one of the most famous constellations. It is small in size and has no particularly bright stars, but its location is remarkable. Ursa Minor is located near the north pole of the world, and thanks to this, it has played an important role in astronomy for many centuries. Ursa Minor is usually depicted as a small bear with a long tail. They say that the tail is so long because the bear clings to the pole of the Earth with its end. The seven brightest stars in Ursa Minor form a bucket shape, similar to the asterism in the constellation Ursa Major. At the end of the handle is the North Star. Finding a constellation in the sky is quite simple. Its neighbors are Giraffe, Dragon and Cepheus. But the Big Dipper is usually a guide for the search. By drawing a line through the two extreme luminaries of its ladle, and measuring up five distances between them, you can find the North Star, which serves as the beginning of the “handle” of another, smaller “scoop”. This will be Ursa Minor. It is less bright than the Big one, but it is still clearly expressed in the sky and is easily distinguishable from other constellations. In the Northern Hemisphere, this constellation is available for observation all year round.

The brightest stars in the constellation

Polaris (αUMi). Magnitude 2.02 m
Cohab (β UMi). Visible magnitude 2.08m. Between about 2000 B.C. e. to 500 AD e. Kokhab was the closest to North Pole of the world as a bright star and played the role of a polar star, which is reflected in its Arabic name Kohab el-Shemali (Star of the North)
Ferkad (γ UMi). Magnitude 3.05 m
Yildun (δUMi). Apparent magnitude 4.36 m

Legend of the constellation Ursa Minor

Ursa Major and Ursa Minor are connected not only by the neighborhood in the sky, but also by myths and legends, which the ancient Greeks were great masters of writing.

The main role in stories with bears was usually given to Callisto, daughter of Lycaon, king of Arcadia. According to one of the legends, her beauty was so extraordinary that she attracted the attention of the almighty Zeus. Having assumed the guise of the hunting goddess Artemis, in whose retinue Callisto was, Zeus penetrated the maiden, after which her son Arkad was born. Upon learning of this, the jealous wife of Zeus Hera immediately turned Callisto into a bear. Time has passed. Arkad grew up and became a wonderful young man. One day while hunting wild beast, he attacked the trail of a bear. Suspecting nothing, he already intended to hit the animal with an arrow, but Zeus did not allow the murder: turning his son also into a bear, he transferred both to heaven. This act infuriated Hera; having met with her brother Poseidon (god of the seas), the goddess begged him not to let the couple into her kingdom. That is why the Big Ursa Minor in middle and northern latitudes they never go beyond the horizon.

Another legend is connected with the birth of Zeus. His father was the god Kronos, who, as you know, had a habit of devouring his own children. To protect the baby, the wife of Kronos, the goddess Rhea, hid Zeus in a cave, where he was fed by two bears - Melissa and Helis, who were later ascended to heaven.

In general, for the ancient Greeks, the bear was an exotic and rare animal. Perhaps that is why both she-bears in the sky have long curved tails, which in reality are not found in bears. Some, however, explain their occurrence by the unceremoniousness of Zeus, who pulled the bears into the sky by their tails. But the tails can have a completely different origin: among the same Greeks, the constellation Ursa Minor had an alternative name - Kinosura (from the Greek Κυνόσουρις), which translates as "Dog's Tail".

Big and Small Buckets were often called "chariots" or Big and Small Carts (not only in Greece, but also in Rus'). Indeed, with due imagination, one can see carts with harness in the ladles of these constellations.

You don't have to go anywhere to visit this unusual zoo. It is enough to wait for the evening and look at the sky. And there is the Wolf and the Dolphin, the Giraffe and the Flying Fish. Lynx and Lizard, Swan, Hydra, Fly and even Dragon with Unicorn. All this unusual collection of animals settled in the night sky, but it's not so easy to see them!

Surely you have noticed that the stars in the sky seem to be assembled into bizarre figures, and most of them are of a completely incomprehensible shape. People have been staring at them for thousands of years. The history of the constellations began even when the ancient Greeks began to combine the brightest and most noticeable groups of stars into constellations and gave each its own name. They saw the life of mythical Gods and fabulous creatures in the night sky. Entire legends were composed about the appearance of each luminary.

Since the Greeks could only see North hemisphere The lands they counted 47 constellations. And only when Europeans began to discover new lands 400 years ago, new beauties of the starry sky became available to people. Gradually, such "modern" names of the constellations as the Microscope, the Electric Furnace, the Clock, the Compass and even the Pump appeared. Total now on star charts 88 constellations are marked.

But if in ancient times the constellation named several stars, which made up some figure, now a constellation is understood as a certain area of \u200b\u200bthe sky. It includes all the luminaries located in a certain area, even the dimmest and most distant ones. This helps scientists accurately navigate in stellar space.

A special place among the constellations went to the twelve signs of the zodiac. They replace each other every month, at a time when the Sun passes against the background of each of them.

Of all the constellations, the naked eye can only see about thirty. And, of course, the most famous of them are Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. They never leave the sky and are visible from any point. the globe. Ursa Major is similar to the well-known bucket, consisting of 7 bright stars. In fact, this constellation has over 100 stars.

Why is she called Bear?

IN ancient greece there was a legend about the girl Callisto, who, out of envy of her beauty, was turned into an ugly bear. The god Zeus, protecting the beast from killing, placed her in heaven. And when he threw the animal, he held on to the tail, which is why he stretched out. In general, bears have a small tail. And the dog Callisto was turned into Ursa Minor, so they remained in the starry sky.

Each of the seven stars Ursa Major has its own name, although usually 2-3 stars are called in the constellations, the rest are designated by one letter, depending on their brightness. With the help of the dimmest of the stars of Ursa Major, visual acuity was previously checked. Only those who could distinguish this star were accepted into the protection of the Egyptian Pharaohs. Only now, since there are no bears in Egypt, the constellation was called Hippo. There were other names as well. In the north of Russia, it was called Elk, Carriage or Cart.

At Ursa Minor most famous star Polar. It is located directly above the North Pole and points the way to the North. For many years it serves as a guide for sailors and wanderers. But it was not always so. After all, all the stars move very slowly. Thousands of years ago, the picture of the night sky was a little different. And in the distant future, people will see the constellations in their new form.

Learning to find Ursa Minor, Cassiopeia and Dragon

Prepared by O. Malakhov

So, let's start our acquaintance with starry sky. Today we will get acquainted with the four constellations northern sky: Ursa Major, Ursa Minor (with the famous North Star), Dragon and Cassiopeia. All these constellations, due to their proximity to the North Pole of the World in the European territory former USSR are non-entering. Those. they can be found in the starry sky on any day and at any time. The first steps should begin with the Big Dipper known to everyone. Did you find it in the sky? If not, then to search for it, remember that on summer evenings the “ladle” is located in the northwest, in autumn - in the north, in winter - in the northeast, in spring - directly overhead. Now pay attention to the two extreme stars of this "bucket" (see Fig.).

If you mentally draw a straight line through these two stars, then the first star, the brightness of which is comparable to the brightness of the stars of the “bucket” of the Big Dipper, will be the Polar Star, belonging to the constellation Ursa Minor. Using the map shown in the figure, try to find the rest of the stars in this constellation. If you observe in urban conditions, then it will be difficult to make out the stars of the "small bucket" (namely, this is how the constellation Ursa Minor is unofficially called): they are not as bright as the stars of the "big bucket", i.e. Big Dipper. To do this, it is better to have binoculars on hand. When you see the constellation Ursa Minor, you can try to find the constellation Cassiopeia. I don’t know about you, but for me it was initially associated with another “bucket”. Rather, it is even a "coffee pot". So, look at the second from the end star of the “bucket handle” of Ursa Major. This is the star next to which an asterisk is barely visible to the naked eye. Bright Star bears the name of Mizar, and the one next to it is Alkor (here is the model range of iconic Soviet telescopes for astronomy lovers, produced by the Novosibirsk Instrument-Making Plant (NPZ)). They say that if translated from Arabic, then Mizar is a horse, and Alcor is a rider. Being familiar with Arabic I can't confirm this, but let's trust the books.

So, Mizar is found. Now draw a mental line from Mizar through the North Star and then about the same distance. And you will surely see pretty bright constellation in the form of the Latin letter W (see figure). This is Cassiopeia. Still, something like a "coffee pot", isn't it?

After Cassiopeia, we try to find the constellation Draco. As can be seen from the picture at the top of the page, it seems to extend between the "ladles" of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, moving further towards Cepheus, Lyra, Hercules and Cygnus. We will talk about these constellations a little later, and, having gained basic experience in orienting in the starry sky, try using the above drawing to find the constellation Draco in full.

Now you should be able to easily find the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, Cassiopeia, Draco in the sky.

Questions:
1. In what region of the sky was the constellation Cassiopeia during your observations?
2. In what area of the sky was the "bucket" of the Big Dipper?
3. Could you see Alcor with the naked eye?

I live in the city and it's not easy to see the constellations. But Withconstellation Ursa Minor visible even from the outskirts of St. Petersburg, so I think on a clear day anyone can see them. I know two ways to find Ursa Minor.

How to find Ursa Minor

I don’t know how it is in science, I have my own ways:

traditional;
modern using gadgets.

Let's tell in order.

The traditional way: how I look for Ursa Minor

This method allows find not only Ursa Minor, but also the Great. Here you can not do without a picture and help.

You have to remember well what do these constellations look like. Try to remember how the stars are arranged. You can take the drawing with you, it will be easier look for the stars on the sky.
First of all search in the sky big dipper . The stars of this constellation are bright, it is not difficult to find it by comparing it with the picture. Found?
Just above the Big Dipper look for polar star. It is bright and is in line with the two stars of the Ursa Major bucket.
The polar star is the extreme star in "bucket handle" Ursa Minor. Find the rest of the constellation points based on the drawing.
Remember that the "bucket handles" Ursa Minor and Ursa Major always directed in different directions.

Now that you found the constellations, based on the picture, try to find them again, already on your own. By doing this, you will learn identify these constellations without outside help.

How to look for Ursa Minor: an "advanced" way

It turns out there are smartphone apps and tablets that allow look for Ursa Minor and other objects in the night sky.

How to find what you need using the application:

Loading application.
Be sure to add information about your location.
Hover camera to that part of the sky in which you want to find a star or constellation.
The app shows you what are the names of the stars and circles the constellations that fall within the camera's field of view.

I myself prefer the second way. I don't really rely on my eyes and memory, and if find Ursa Minor and the Big one I can still do, then with the rest of the constellations everything is much more complicated. And the application is perfectly oriented even in poor visibility.

In addition, you can learn a lot of new names of stars.