URSA MINOR

Facts

• Ursa Minor Latin Smaller Bear
• Ursa Minor is known as the Little Dipper because its seven brightest stars seem to form the shape of a dipper
• Ursa Minor is commonly visualized as a baby bear with an unusually long tail.

The North Star

• The star at the end of the dipper handle is Polaris, the North Star.
• It can also be found by following a line through the two stars that form the ''bowl'' of the Big Dipper.
• The reason Polaris is so important is because the axis of Earth is pointed almost directly at it.

Did you know

• More than 200 slaves used the North Star to get to freedom.
• Sailors use to and still do use the North Star to navigate when they are lost
• Earth's axis points almost directly at the north star

The Myth

THERE ARE SEVERAL MYTHOLOGICAL STORIES BEHIND THESE FAMOUS CONSTELLATIONS. IN GREEK MYTH, ZEUS WAS HAVING AN AFFAIR WITH THE LOVELY CALLISTO. WHEN HIS WIFE, HERA, FOUND OUT SHE CHANGED CALLISTO INTO A BEAR. ZEUS PUT THE BEAR IN THE SKY ALONG WITH THE LITTLE BEAR, WHICH IS CALLISTO'S SON, ARCAS. IN OTHER MYTHS, THE CONSTELLATION IS NOT A BEAR AT ALL, BUT IS IN FACT A DOG.

THE END