top of page

Ursa Minor

Ursa Minor

Ursa Minor (Latin for 'Lesser Bear', contrasting with Ursa Major), also known as the Little Bear, is a constellation located in the far northern sky. As with the Great Bear, the tail of the Little Bear may also be seen as the handle of a ladle, hence the North American name, Little Dipper: seven stars with four in its bowl like its partner the Big Dipper. Ursa Minor was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. Ursa Minor has traditionally been important for navigation, particularly by mariners, because of Polaris being the north pole star.


Source: Wikipedia

Image source: IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine (Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg)

TM.jpg

Gallery

Polaris Mosaic
Polaris Mosaic (Four Panels)

Copyright © 2019-2025 by Timothy Martin. All rights reserved. 

NASA logo used by permission. NASA is not affiliated with this website in any way and does not endorse or operate it.

Note that this website collects no data from users either explicitly or implicitly Nor does it place any artifacts, such as cookies, on user devices.

bottom of page