Perhaps the most known constellation in the sky of the northern hemisphere of the Earth. Its seven brightest stars make up the Big Dipper asterism, which is visible all year round at mid-latitudes. This makes it an indispensable assistant for finding constellations in the sky and for orienting on Earth.
Probably, many have heard of the constellation, which is located not far from the Big One and is also visible in our sky all year round. Its bright stars form the Little Dipper asterism, but not everyone can find it, as well as the constellation Ursa Minor itself. Meanwhile, this constellation plays an important role for the inhabitants of the northern hemisphere of the Earth, since it is in it that the famous Polar Star is located, indicating the direction to the north.
Bode originally described them as hazy patches. The Owl Nebula - Messier 97, photo: Jessica Barton, Faulkes Telescope North. In the center is a star of 16th magnitude. It got its name from the appearance of owl-like eyes when viewed through a large telescope.
Bresolin, J. He has apparent magnitude 86 and is located at a distance of 9 million light years from Earth. He was among the last entries. Pierre Mechain described Messier 101 as a nebula without a star, very obscure and rather large, 6 to 7 inches in diameter, between the left arm of Boethes and the tail of the great Bear.
Below we will briefly describe how to find Ursa Minor by Ursa Major. Starting from the stars of the Big Dipper, this is not at all difficult to do.
The first thing you need to do is find the Big Dipper in the sky, or rather, (the constellation Ursa Major is much larger than the bucket). The easiest way to find the Big Dipper is in the spring, when in the evenings it is almost at its zenith. In summer, the Big Dipper is in the west, with the bucket slightly tilted down.
Messier 108 is a closed spiral galaxy discovered by Pierre Méchain. From our vantage point, the galaxy appears almost to the edge. Messier 109 is another closed spiral galaxy in Ursa Major. The galaxy has an apparent magnitude of 6 and is 5 million light-years away.
The galaxy is often classified as a dwarf spiral galaxy because it shows signs of a spiral structure. As a result of tidal interactions with M101, the disk of the galaxy is displaced from the core, as well as star formation. It has a visual magnitude of 3 and is approximately 22 million light-years from the solar system.
Position of the Big Dipper in the middle of summer. Picture: Stellarium
In autumn - in the north low above the horizon in an almost horizontal position ...
Big Bucket autumn. Picture: Stellarium
... and in winter - in the east, while the Bucket is almost on the handle.
Big Dipper- one of the most easily recognizable asterisms in the night sky, found in the constellation of the Great Bear. The "Big Dipper" is well known in many cultures and goes by many names, including "Plow", "Great Wagon", "Saptarishi" and "Cabbage". Asterism is especially noticeable in summer and is one of the first star patterns we study to identify. Ursa Major is often confused for the constellation itself, and its name is used synonymously with the Great Bear. However, Ursa Major is not a constellation in itself, but only the most prominent part of Major Ursa, the third largest of the 88 constellations.
In winter, the Big Dipper is in the east. Picture: Stellarium
Now that you have found the Big Dipper, mentally connect the two extreme stars that form the wall of the bucket, Merak and Dubhe, with a line. Then extend the line further five times the distance Merak - Dubhe. It will point to a star of the same brightness as the bucket stars. This is the most bright Star constellation Ursa Minor.
Asterism serves as a guide for many bright stars. The arc of the handle of Ursa Major leads to the bear, the brightest star in the constellation. The two stars representing the cup of Ursa Major lead the way to the North Star and another pair of stars, Megrez and Pekda, point the way to the brightest star, as well as one of the brightest stars in the night sky, as well as Alphard, the brightest star in Russia .
The Big Dipper is associated with a number of different myths and folk tales in cultures around the world. IN East Asia it is known as the Northern Dipper. The Chinese know the seven stars as the government, or Choi Sing. In Malaysia, the asterism is called Buruj Biduk, or the Ark, and in Mongolia it is known as the Seven Gods.
How to find Ursa Minor in the Big Spring. The line Merak - Dubhe points to the North Star. And two other bright stars of Ursa Minor, Kokhab and Ferkad, are above the handle of the Big Dipper. Picture: Stellarium
The North Star is located at the tip of the handle of the Small Dipper. The stars that form the Small Dipper, in general, are much dimmer than the stars of the Big Dipper, so finding Ursa Minor in the city, in the overexposed sky, is not easy. The Small Bucket is about half the size of the Big Bucket, and its handle is bent to the other side. Of the seven stars that make up this asterism, only three are reliably visible in the city: the North Star in the handle, as well as the stars Kokhab and Ferkad, which make up the wall of the Small Dipper. The last two stars are above the handle of the Big Dipper Bucket.
In Arabic history, the stars that form the bowl represent the coffin, and the three stars that represent the handle are the mourners behind it. The old English name for the asterism is Charles Wayne, which comes from the Scandinavian Karlavanen, Karlsvogen or Karlsvogna. Charles or Carl was a common name in the Germanic languages, and the name of the asterism meant "male wagon", as opposed to what was "women's wagon". An even older name for the stars in Ursa Major was Odina-Vine, or Odin's Wagon, in reference to Norse mythology.
In the city, from the entire constellation Ursa Minor, only the Polar Star is clearly visible, as well as the stars of the wall of the Small Bucket, Kokhab and Ferkad. The last two are located above the handle of the Ursa Major bucket and are connected by a dash in the picture for clarity. This position of the Big Dipper relative to Ursa Minor can be observed in spring, when the Big Dipper is almost at its zenith. Picture: Stellarium
In Slavic languages and in Romanian, Big and is known as the Great and Little Wagon, and the Germans know the Big Dipper as Grosser Wagen or the Great Basket. The Romans knew the seven stars as the "seven ox plov" or "Cententrio" and only two of the seven stars represented bulls and the others a wagon drawn by oxen.
Some Native American groups saw the bowl as a bear and the three stars in the handle as either three cubs or three hunters after the bear. The second interpretation is related to a folk tale explaining why the leaves turn red in autumn: hunters are chasing wounded bears, and because during this time the star asterism is low in the sky, the blood of the bear falls on the leaves, making them turn red.
To see the whole Small Dipper, and not just its extreme stars, you will most likely have to get out of the city, away from city lights. The night should be dark and preferably moonless. Then you will find the Small Bucket relatively easily. The good news is that the Small Bucket, unlike other star drawings, does not drastically change its position in the sky. If most constellations are seasonal - they are visible only at certain times of the year, or they sharply change their position in the sky depending on the season, such as Ursa Major, then Ursa Minor is always visible in one sector of the sky. The Small Bucket, however, also changes its position, looks either to the north, then to the south, then to the west, then to the east, but its brightest star, Polaris, is always in the same place- at any time of the day and at any time of the year! The North Star is, as it were, the axis around which the Small Dipper moves, as well as all other constellations.
In more recent history, black slaves in the United States knew the constellation as the "Drinking Gourd" and used it to find their way north to freedom. We usually spend a lot of time enjoying the seasonal constellations, the ones our ancestors depended on as indicators of change here on Earth, but we often forget that there are many star patterns that are always there, waiting for us as we turn around to the north. These are circumpolar constellations which, although their positions change over time, appear to move in a circle centered on the north pole of the sky and are always visible from our northern latitudes.
Although the position of the Big Dipper changes from season to season, the position of the North Star remains the same. The method of searching for the Polar by the extreme stars of the Ursa Major bucket works at any time of the year. Picture: Stellarium
This is possible due to the fact that the North Star is close. The unique property of the North Star to stay in one place allows you to use it as a landmark in the area. In fact, if you draw a perpendicular to the horizon from the North Star, it will point exactly north. However, not only the North Star, but also the Big Dipper allows you to navigate well on the ground. In spring, the handle of the Big Dipper looks to the east, and the bucket itself looks to the west, but in other seasons, as we wrote above, in the evenings The Big Dipper is either in the west, or in the north, or in the east, helping to determine the cardinal points.
The most obvious is Big Bear, Ursa's major. This specimen is so easily perceived as a bear who, all over the Earth, saw this part of the sky as a huge mammal, a large brown bear throughout much of Central Europe, polar bear for those in the Scandinavian countries, or a bear or other pleasant forest creature in North America; however, in Thailand your imagination stretched a bit - there was a crocodile.
Unfortunately, our illuminated skies have wiped out most of the animals in the cities, but the bear's rear end, the Big Dipper, can still be seen everywhere. Five of these seven stars are actually part of a group of stars called an association. One of them, the pen rogue's star, Mizar, was an eye test for Greek soldiers. Look closely at this star - if you see a dimmer star next to it, your eyes are good enough for battle. Dimmer Alcor, although he appears to be a close neighbor to Mizar, is actually much further away, and only in the same direction.
She immediately turned Callisto into a bear. One day, Arkas, who became a beautiful young man, while hunting in the forests, attacked the trail of a bear. He already pulled his bow to hit the prey with a deadly arrow, but Zeus did not allow the crime: turning his son also into a bear, he transferred both to heaven. In a rhythmic dance they began to circle around the pole, but Hera, in a rage, begged her brother Poseidon not to let the hated couple into her kingdom; therefore Ursa Major and Ursa Minor are non-setting constellations in the middle and northern latitudes of our hemisphere. Francesco Petrarca described the Big Dipper in his 33rd sonnet as follows:
Already the dawn was reddening the east.
And the light of a star that disliked Juno,
Still shone in the pale sky
Above the pole, beautiful and far away.
This is called optical double. The two stars on the outer edge of the dipper lead us to the most important star in the Northern Hemisphere, which is only a few degrees from the Northern Celestial Pole, Polaris, the North Star. Most of them are very surprised to learn that its importance lies not in its brightness, but in its position, close enough to appear stationary in the northern sky. This is also within a few degrees of your latitude. As a help, think about how both jugs are positioned in the pouring position; they are at an angle so that the liquid in their cups will flow into each other.
Ursa Major culminates at midnight in March - May, and Ursa Minor - in early June. Its brightest star is currently 1.5 ° from the celestial pole and is called Polaris. The brightest stars of both Ursa bears form bucket-like shapes, so they are easy to find in the sky.
There is another legend about circumpolar constellations. Fearing Kronos, who devoured his children, his wife Rhea hid the newborn Zeus in a cave, where he was fed, in addition to the malthea goat, by two bears - Melissa and Helis, who were subsequently placed in heaven for this. Melissa is sometimes referred to as Kinosura, which means "dog's tail". Indeed, bears have such long tails, which we see in any image of the constellations of the circumpolar region, does not exist. 
IN Ancient Russia the same constellation had different names - Woz, Chariot, Pan, Bucket; the peoples who inhabited the territory of Ukraine called it the Cart; in the Volga region it was called Big Dipper, and in Siberia - Losem. And until now, in some areas of our country, these names have been preserved.
This star will change the shape of this design from a letter to a chair. You found Cassiopeia, the lady on the pulpit. Cassiopeia was a beautiful queen who loved to remind her subjects of this. But it wasn't until she started saying that she looked so much better than Neptune's guardians that she was in trouble. Jupiter sat on a chair and placed it in the sky in such a position that within half a year, when you look north, you will see the chair upside down; Cassiopeia must fight to stay in her chair, or land on Earth first.
After some time, it was decided to send her husband, Cepheus, into the sky in order to keep his company. He is a very dim clown located right next to her. Just draw a line from two stars at the bottom of each foot to find it. Returning to the two pointer stars of Ursa Major, this time they only rise one distance from them. The star you find is the end of Draco, the Dragon. If you have seen the Dragonheart movie, you could see the constellation as it is located in the sky.
Dolon eburgen(“seven elders”), Dolon darkhan (“seven blacksmiths”), Dolon burkhan (“seven gods”), in the mythology of the Mongolian peoples constellation Ursa Major, its seven stars are sometimes ranked as tengeri. In shamanic hymns, Dolon eburgen is the giver of a happy fate (cf. zayachi). In Buryat mythology (in the epic about Geser), the constellation appeared from the skulls of seven black (malicious) blacksmiths, the sons of a black blacksmith hostile to people Khozhori . There are plots (in the Tibeto-Mongolian editions of the collection "Magic Dead" and in oral stories dating back to them), connecting the origin of the Big Dipper with the myth of a man with a cow's head, called "White-faced bull" or "White bull", as well as Basang (in Tibetan mythology - Masane, a bull-headed character). It was crushed with the iron mallet of the witch-Shulmas into seven parts, which made up the constellation; was taken to heaven by Hormusta for defeating the black poroz (bull), who fought with the white, who, according to some versions, was the embodiment of the supreme deity himself (the solar theme of the change of day and night, cf. the myth of Bukhanoyon babae ). According to another version, one of the stars of the Big Dipper, located on her shoulder (option: in the tail), was stolen from Michita (constellation Pleiades ) who is chasing the kidnapper.
Beginning with the Big Dipper, this mythical animal follows the curves of both jars, with the head of a crooked square, the asterism "Light Cement", astride itself. There is also a very dark part northern sky, which at first would seem to have no stars. At times it seems like our ancestors had unique senses of humor. Undoubtedly the most familiar star pattern in the entire sky is the seven stars that make up the shape popularly called the Plow or Ursa Major, part of the third largest constellation, Major Ursa, the Great Bear.
The Greenlandic Eskimos unanimously tell the same story about the Big Dipper, the coincidence of all the details of which for each of the narrators makes us assume that this is pure truth, and not at all an idle fiction of walrus hunters bored during the long polar night.
The great hunter Eriulok lived in a snow hut. He lived alone, because he was very proud that he was a great hunter and did not want to know other Eskimos, also hunters, but not great. Alone, Eriulok went out in a fragile leather canoe into the stormy sea and with a long, heavy harpoon with a sharp bone tip, he got not only walruses and seals, but also a whale. How you can get a whole whale alone, let's leave it to the conscience of the Eskimos themselves. In the end, Eriulok was a great hunter for that. Never in his snowy hut was the fat needed in the seal economy, which had long been filled with Eskimo lamps and greased their faces and fingers so as not to freeze. On any given day, he had enough delicious jerky, and the ceiling and walls of his snowy dwelling were covered with the best walrus skins that could be found all the way from Greenland to Labrador. Solitary Eriulok was rich, well-fed and satisfied.
But over time, some anxiety began to pester the great hunter. It can be seen that happiness is not in hunting alone, once he realized that he no longer wanted to return to his lonely hut, where he could not hear either children's laughter, or words of greeting and gratitude. In short, the great hunter realized that it was time for him to start a family and live like all people. But it's easier to understand than to do. Other Eskimos for a long time no longer accepted a too proud fellow tribesman, once and for all refusing him from home, which sometimes happens in a more civilized world, when someone does a better job than everyone else.
Since no one except the Eskimos lived either nearby or in the farthest distance, the Eskimos, on the other hand, have always been distinguished by their great integrity and sense of elbow: as they decided not to deal with a lonely arrogant, they never had. In the end, Eriulok went to the very shore Arctic Ocean and turned to the very mistress of the sea waters, fish, spirits and animals, to the main Eksimos goddess Arnarquagssak. He told about his problem and asked for help in the hope that the goddess would not refuse such a famous person as he.
The Eskimo goddess really did not refuse and promised to send a good bride to the local storm of seals and walruses, and if necessary, two. But, as usual with gods and goddesses, she appointed a test. It was necessary to go to some distant island, find an ice cave there, defeat or deceive a huge polar bear and steal from him a ladle full of magic berries that give youth. The old sea goddess needed such berries very much, but it was not possible to find a madman who would go after them. And just then Eriulok turned up.
In general, the hero got to the island, found a cave, put the bear to sleep and stole a ladle with magic berries. And besides, he safely delivered both the ladle and the berries to their destination. However, a really good hunter.
The most interesting thing is that the sea deity did not inflate the ingenuous hero at the last moment. No, they parted honestly: Eriulok got a silver seal, who immediately turned into a beautiful girl and declared that all her life she had only dreamed of marrying Eriulok. So soon the great hunter for even greater envy of his neighbors also became the father of an extensive and happy family. The sea goddess, having eaten the magical berries and dropped a couple of thousand years, in joy threw an empty ladle up so that it caught on something, and hung overhead
Seven stars form the rump and tail of the bear, while the rest of the animal is made up of fainter stars. For example, in the Odyssey we read that Odysseus held a great bear to his left as he sailed east. Aratus tells us that bears were also called wagons or mountains, and at one point he referred to the figure of Major Ursa as a "bear wagon" to emphasize his dual identity. Homer in The Odyssey mentioned "The Great Bear, whom people call Wayne, who circles opposite Orion and never swims in the sea", the last phrase is a reference to his circumpolar character.
IN Ancient Egypt the constellation Ursa Major was called Meskhet
, "The hip living in the great Lake of the northern sky" (cf. the idea of the barque Ra). 
In the mythology of the Ingush, it is believed that the theomachist Kuryuko stole from the god of thunder and lightning Sela to give people sheep, water and reeds for building dwellings. In this he is helped by the seven sons of Sela, who were supposed to guard the entrance to him. Enraged, Sela chained Kuryuko to a mountain rock, and hung his sons to the sky as punishment, and they made up the constellation Ursa Major.
The adjoining constellation Bethes has been represented as a bear shepherd or wagon driver. According to Hyginus, the Romans referred to the Great Bear as Sepentrio, which meant "seven oxen plows", although he added the information that in ancient times only two stars were considered oxen, and the other five made up a wagon.
In mythology, the Great Bear is identified with two separate characters: Callisto, lover of Zeus; and Adrastea, one of the nymphorics who fed the newborn Zeus. To complicate matters, there are several different versions of each story, notably involving Callisto.
In Tibetan folklore, a demoness pursues the bull-headed creature Masang, the son of a cow and a man, and throws a ball that tears Masang into seven pieces, which become the Big Dipper. In this capacity, this character (as Basang) entered the mythology of the Mongolian peoples.
According to Armenian myth, the seven stars of Ursa Major are seven gossips, turned into seven stars by an angry god.
Callisto joined the retinue of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. She dressed just like Artemis, tying her hair with a white ribbon and pinning her tunic with a brooch, and she soon became Artemis' favorite hunting partner, to whom she swore praise. One afternoon, when Callisto laid down her bow and rested in a shady forest grove, Zeus saw her and was fascinated. He lay next to her and hugged her. Before the frightened girl could react, Zeus revealed his true self and, despite Callisto's struggle, passed with her.
Zeus returned to Olympus, leaving the infamous Callisto to barely confront Artemis and the other nymphs. On a hot day a few months later, the hunting party came to a cool river and decided to take a dip. Artemis pulled back and led them, but Callisto leaned back. As she reluctantly undressed, her advancing pregnancy was finally revealed. She broke her vow of chastity! Artemis, scandalously, banished Callisto from her eyes.
The Sioux Indians associated the Big Dipper with the Skunk. 
In Ancient Mesopotamia, this constellation was called "Cargo Carriage" (Akkadian sambu, eriqqu). The idea of the Big Dipper as a chariot was widespread in the Ancient Mesopotamia, among the Hittites, in Ancient Greece, in Phrygia, among the Baltic peoples, in Ancient China (Ursa Major - "a chariot pointing south"), among the South American Bororo Indians. The names of the constellation Ursa Major, like this one, are found among many peoples, there are other variants of the name: Old High German wagan - "chariot"; ancient Roman Septemtriones - "Seven stars"; Middle Dutch woenswaghen, woonswaghen "Wotan's wagon"; Sogdian "nxr-wzn - "circle of the Zodiac"; Mitanni Aryan uasanna - "circle in the hippodrome"; Old Indian vahana - "animal on which the gods ride" - and ratha - "chariot"; Tocharian A kukal, B kokale - "chariot" ; German Grosser Wagen - "Big Carriage".
Worse, when Callisto gave birth to a son, Arkas. Hera, the wife of Zeus, was in no hurry to realize her husband's infidelity and now decided to take revenge on her rival. Insulting the insults, Hera grabbed Callisto by the hair and pulled her to the ground. When Callisto lay underground, dark hair began to sprout from her arms and legs, her arms and legs turned into claws and her beautiful mouth, which Zeus had kissed, turned into gaping jaws that uttered a growl.
For 15 years, Callisto roamed the forest in the form of a bear, but still with a human mind. Once a hunter herself, she was pursued by hunters. One day she came face to face with her son Arkas. Callisto recognized Arcas and tried to approach him, but he retreated in fear. He would have chased the bear away, not knowing it was his mother, if Zeus had not intervened, sending a whirlwind that transported them to heaven, where Zeus turned Callisto into the constellation Ursa Major and Arkas into Bethes.
In India, the head of the Elk (Ursa Major) faces east. Also in India there is a legend about the North Star and the Seven Wise Men (Ursa Major)
The pursuit of the heavenly elk is attributed in the Karelian-Finnish runes to various heroes. One of them is the “sly guy Lemminkäinen”, a restless loser hero. Having made wonderful skis, he boasts that not a single creature in the forests can escape him. His boasting is heard by the evil owners of the wild creatures ~ Hiisi and the yuvttahi spirits. They created the Hiisi elk:
Having made the head from a tussock, The whole body from deadwood, Having made legs from stakes, Ears from lake flowers, And eyes from swamps.
The spirits send the elk to flee to the north “through the fields of the sons of the Lapps, to the courtyards of the gloomy Pokhjela”; there he overturns the cauldron with the fish soup, causing tears of girls and laughter of women. Lemminkäinen perceives this laughter as a mockery of himself and rushes in pursuit of an elk on his skis: The first time he pushed
And he disappeared from sight on skis.
Pushed off for the second time
And he was no longer heard.
The third time he pushed off -
And jumped on the back of an elk.
The successful hunter had already made a cage to keep his prey there, and began to dream about how good it would be to lay his skin on the marriage bed and caress the maiden on it. It was then that the magic elk escaped from the daydreaming earner: in a rage, he broke the cage and sped away. Lemminkäinen rushed after him, but in a hurry he pushed off so that he broke both skis and poles ...
Lemminkäinen's failure is connected with the prohibition that he violated: during the hunt, one should not think about marital pleasures - this scares off the prey. In addition, the skin of a sacred animal created by the spirits cannot be used for domestic needs.
It can be assumed that the hunting myth about a giant deer, which turned into a constellation, in a society that already knew cattle breeding, was transformed into a myth about a huge bull that the gods could not slaughter.
The bear was especially revered among the Finns and Karelians, as well as among other Finno-Ugric peoples. It arose from wool thrown from heaven into the water; according to other myths, he was born near the heavenly bodies in the sky, near the Big Dipper, from where he was lowered on silver straps in a gilded cradle into the forest, where he remained on the silver branches of a pine tree (a similar myth known to the Ob Ugrians will be discussed below). The hunt for a bear is accompanied by a whole cycle of conspiracies in which the beast is persuaded that he was not killed by a hunter, but he himself came to the house of people “with a honey belly from honey”: for him, as for a dear guest, they clean the hut. The bear is a human relative. He is from the clan of Adam and Eve: his father and mother are known - Khongatar (a word related to the name of a pine tree). In some conspiracies, a bear is greeted as a groom, “in a fur coat of money beauty” - they make a bed with a gilded feather bed (we talked about a bear wedding above). The skull of a dead bear was hung on a pine tree - where the first mythical beast came from: they believed that the spirit of the bear would be reborn.
The name of these two constellations (Big and Ursa Minor) among the peoples who inhabited the territory of the current Kazakh Republic. Observing the starry sky, they, like other peoples, drew attention to the immobility of the Polar Star, which at any time of the day invariably occupies the same position above the horizon. It is quite natural that these peoples, whose main source of existence were herds of horses, called the Polar Star an “iron nail” (“Temir-Kazyk”) driven into the sky, and in the other stars of Ursa Minor they saw a lasso tied to this “nail”, put on neck of the Horse (constellation Ursa Major). During the day, the Horse ran his way around the "nail". Thus, the ancient Kazakhs combined the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor into one. 
The Ob Ugrians believed that the celestial origin was attributed to the elk and other space objects: once the elk had six legs and raced across the sky so fast that no one could catch up with it. Then a certain Son of God or a man went hunting mos- the ancestor of the Ob Ugrians - on skis made of sacred wood. The hunter managed to drive the deer from the sky to the ground and cut off its extra two legs, but the traces of the heavenly hunt were forever imprinted in the sky. The Milky Way is the hunter's ski track, the Pleiades are the women from his house, the Big Dipper is the elk itself. The heavenly hunter has since settled on a land where there was an abundance of game. Undoubtedly, this myth was duplicated among many northern peoples.
