"Ursa Major Ursa Major (; also known as the Great Bear) is a constellation in the northern sky, whose associated mythology likely dates back into prehistory. Its Latin name means ""greater (or larger) she-bear"", standing as a reference to and in direct contrast with nearby Ursa Minor, the lesser bear. In antiquity, it was one of the original 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy (2nd century AD), and is now the third largest constellation of the 88 modern constellations. Ursa Major is primarily known from the asterism of its main seven relatively bright stars comprising the ""Big Dipper"", ""the Wagon"", ""Charles's"
"(β) and Dubhe (α). This makes it useful in celestial navigation. The constellation of Ursa Major (Latin: Greater Bear) has been seen as a bear, a wagon, or a ladle. The ""bear"" tradition is Greek, but apparently the name ""bear"" has parallels in Siberian or North American traditions. The name ""Bear"" is Homeric, and apparently native to Greece, while the ""Wain"" tradition is Mesopotamian. Book XVIII of Homer's ""Iliad"" mentions it as ""the Bear, which men also call the Wain"". In Latin, these seven stars were known as the ""Seven Oxen"" (', from '). The classical mythographer identified the ""Bear"""
"Ursa Minor Ursa Minor (Latin: ""Lesser Bear"", contrasting with Ursa Major), also known as the Little Bear, is a constellation in the Northern Sky. Like 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. It 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"
"believed the ""Seven Stars of the Pleiades"" focus the spiritual energy of the Seven Rays from the ""Galactic Logos"" to the ""Seven Stars of the Great Bear"", then to Sirius, then to the Sun, then to the god of Earth (Sanat Kumara), and finally through the seven Masters of the Seven Rays to the human race. The Lakota people call the constellation """", or ""Great Bear""."" In European star charts, the constellation was visualized with the 'square' of the Big Dipper forming the bear's body and the chain of stars forming the Dipper's ""handle"" as a long tail. However, bears"
"Taurus (constellation) Taurus (Latin for ""the Bull"") is one of the constellations of the zodiac, which means it is crossed by the plane of the ecliptic. Taurus is a large and prominent constellation in the northern hemisphere's winter sky. It is one of the oldest constellations, dating back to at least the Early Bronze Age when it marked the location of the Sun during the spring equinox. Its importance to the agricultural calendar influenced various bull figures in the mythologies of Ancient Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. A number of features exist that are of interest to"
"Zi Wei Dou Shu (), or Purple Star Astrology, is still used regularly in modern-day Chinese astrology to divine one's fortune. The 28 Chinese constellations, ""Xiu"" (), are quite different from Western constellations. For example, the Big Bear (Ursa Major) is known as ""Dou"" (); the belt of Orion is known as ""Shen"" (), or the ""Happiness, Fortune, Longevity"" trio of demigods. The seven northern constellations are referred to as ""Xuan Wu"" (). Xuan Wu is also known as the spirit of the northern sky or the spirit of Water in Taoism belief. In addition to astrological readings of the"
"she-bear by Zeus's wife Hera, who was angry at Zeus's infidelity. This is corroborated by the Greek name for Boötes, ""Arctophylax"", which means ""Bear Watcher"". Callisto, in the form of a bear was almost killed by her son, who was out hunting. Zeus rescued her, taking her into the sky where she became Ursa Major, ""the Great Bear"". Arcturus, the name of the constellation's brightest star, comes from the Greek word meaning ""guardian of the bear"". Sometimes Arcturus is depicted as leading the hunting dogs of nearby Canes Venatici and driving the bears of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. Several"
"The tradition of naming the northern constellations ""bears"" appears to be genuinely Greek, although Homer refers to just a single ""bear"". The original ""bear"" is thus Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor was admitted as second, or ""Phoenician Bear"" (Ursa Phoenicia, hence Φοινίκη, Phoenice) only later, according to Strabo (I.1.6, C3) due to a suggestion by Thales, who suggested it as a navigation aid to the Greeks, who had been navigating by Ursa Major. In classical antiquity, the celestial pole was somewhat closer to Beta Ursae Minoris than to Alpha Ursae Minoris, and the entire constellation was taken to indicate the"
"other, are no longer having sexual relations. Originally Oceanus' consort, at a later time Tethys came to be identified with the sea, and in Hellenistic and Roman poetry Tethys' name came to be used as a poetic term for the sea. The only other story involving Tethys is an apparently late astral myth concerning the polar constellation Ursa Major (the Great Bear), which was thought to represent the catasterism of Callisto, who was transformed into a bear, and placed by Zeus among the stars. The myth explains why the constellation never sets below the horizon, saying that since Callisto had"
"spelled ""Arthur"" and is exclusively rhymed with words ending in ""-ur""—never words ending in ""-wr""—which confirms that the second element cannot be ""[g]wr"" ""man""). An alternative theory, which has only gained limited acceptance among scholars, derives the name Arthur from the Latin Arcturus (the brightest star in the constellation Boötes, near Ursa Major or the Great Bear), which is the latinisation of the Greek Αθανάσιος (""Athanasios"") and means ""Immortal"". Another form, ""Arcturus"" would also have become ""Art(h)ur"" when borrowed into Welsh, and its brightness and position in the sky led people to regard it as the ""guardian of the bear"""
"Corvus (constellation) Corvus is a small constellation in the Southern Celestial Hemisphere. Its name means ""raven"" in Latin. One of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, it depicts a raven, a bird associated with stories about the god Apollo, perched on the back of Hydra the water snake. The four brightest stars, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, and Beta Corvi, form a distinctive quadrilateral in the night sky. With an apparent magnitude of 2.59, Gamma Corvi—also known as Gienah—is the brightest star in the constellation. It is an aging blue giant around four times as massive as the Sun."
"but to avert the tragedy, Jupiter turns Arcas into a bear too and puts them both in the sky, forming Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. Callisto is Ursa Major and her son, Arcas, is Ursa Minor. In ancient times the name of the constellation was Helike, (""turning""), because it turns around the Pole. In Book Two of Lucan it is called Parrhasian Helice, since Callisto came from Parrhasia in Arcadia, where the story is set. The Odyssey notes that it is the sole constellation that never sinks below the horizon and ""bathes in the Ocean's waves"", so it is used"
"remain in use, likely because of their proximity to the north celestial pole. Within the constellation's borders, there are 39 stars brighter than or equal to apparent magnitude 6.5. Marking the Little Bear's tail, Polaris, or Alpha Ursae Minoris, is the brightest star in the constellation, varying between apparent magnitude 1.97 and 2.00 over a period of 3.97 days. Located around 432 light-years away from Earth, it is a yellow-white supergiant that varies between spectral types F7Ib and F8Ib, and has around 6 times the Sun's mass, 2,500 times its luminosity and 45 times its radius. Polaris is the brightest"
"and moved off the main sequence. It is times as massive as the Sun, but has expanded to times its diameter and is around 170 times as luminous. ""α Boötis"" (Latinised to ""Alpha Boötis"") is the star's Bayer designation. The traditional name ""Arcturus"" derives from Ancient Greek Ἀρκτοῦρος (""Arktouros"") and means ""Guardian of the Bear"", ultimately from ἄρκτος (""arktos""), ""bear"" and οὖρος (""ouros""), ""watcher, guardian"". It has been known by this name since at least the time of Hesiod. The Greek name is a reference to its being the brightest star in the constellation next to Ursa Major, the Greater"
"Canis Major Canis Major is a constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere. In the second century, it was included in Ptolemy's 48 constellations, and is counted among the 88 modern constellations. Its name is Latin for ""greater dog"" in contrast to Canis Minor, the ""lesser dog""; both figures are commonly represented as following the constellation of Orion the hunter through the sky. The Milky Way passes through Canis Major and several open clusters lie within its borders, most notably M41. Canis Major contains Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, known as the ""dog star"". It is bright because"
"as a celestial reference point for navigation. It is also referred to as the ""Wain"". One of the few star groups mentioned in the Bible (Job 9:9; 38:32; – Orion and the Pleiades being others), Ursa Major was also pictured as a bear by the Jewish peoples. (""The Bear"" was translated as ""Arcturus"" in the Vulgate and it persisted in the KJV.) In the Finnish language, the asterism is sometimes called with its old Finnish name, Otava. The meaning of the name has been almost forgotten in Modern Finnish; it means a salmon weir. Ancient Finns believed the bear (""Ursus"
"Orion (constellation) Orion is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator and visible throughout the world. It is one of the most conspicuous and recognizable constellations in the night sky. It was named after Orion, a hunter in Greek mythology. Its brightest stars are Rigel (Beta Orionis) and Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis), a blue-white and a red supergiant, respectively. The earliest depiction that has been linked to the constellation of Orion is a prehistoric (Aurignacian) mammoth ivory carving found in a cave in the Ach valley in West Germany in 1979. Archaeologists have estimated it to have been fashioned approximately"
"Einstein's prediction of the bending of light around the Sun from his general theory of relativity which he published in 1915. Taurus (constellation) Taurus (Latin for ""the Bull"") is one of the constellations of the zodiac, which means it is crossed by the plane of the ecliptic. Taurus is a large and prominent constellation in the northern hemisphere's winter sky. It is one of the oldest constellations, dating back to at least the Early Bronze Age when it marked the location of the Sun during the spring equinox. Its importance to the agricultural calendar influenced various bull figures in the"
"is derived from the Celtic word for ""bear"", ""artos"". In ancient Greece, archaic cult of Artemis in bear form survived into Classical times at Brauron, where young Athenian girls passed an initiation right as ""arktai"" ""she bears"". For Artemis and one of her nymphs as a she-bear, see the myth of Callisto. The constellations of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, the great and little bears, are named for their supposed resemblance to bears, from the time of Ptolemy. The nearby star Arcturus means ""guardian of the bear"", as if it were watching the two constellations. Ursa Major has been associated"
"for example Betelgeuse, which is predicted to explode sometime in the next million years. Orion (constellation) Orion is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator and visible throughout the world. It is one of the most conspicuous and recognizable constellations in the night sky. It was named after Orion, a hunter in Greek mythology. Its brightest stars are Rigel (Beta Orionis) and Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis), a blue-white and a red supergiant, respectively. The earliest depiction that has been linked to the constellation of Orion is a prehistoric (Aurignacian) mammoth ivory carving found in a cave in the Ach valley"
"Musca Borealis Musca Borealis (Latin for ""northern fly"") was a constellation, now discarded, located between the constellations of Aries and Perseus. It was originally called Apes (plural of Apis, Latin for bee) by Petrus Plancius when he created it in 1612. It was made up of a small group of stars, now called 33 Arietis, 35 Arietis, 39 Arietis, and 41 Arietis, in the north of the constellation of Aries. The brightest star is now known as 41 Arietis. At magnitude 3.63, it is a blue-white main sequence star of spectral type B8V around 166 light-years distant. 39 Arietis is"
"the Northern Hemisphere. Citations Sources Online sources Leo Minor Leo Minor is a small and faint constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere. Its name is Latin for ""the smaller lion"", in contrast to Leo, the larger lion. It lies between the larger and more recognizable Ursa Major to the north and Leo to the south. Leo Minor was not regarded as a separate constellation by classical astronomers; it was designated by Johannes Hevelius in 1687. There are 37 stars brighter than apparent magnitude 6.5 in the constellation; three are brighter than magnitude 4.5. 46 Leonis Minoris, an orange giant of"
"constellation. Among the arctic people known as the Inuit, the constellation is called Sakiattiat and the Hyades is Nanurjuk, with the latter representing the spirit of the polar bear. Aldebaran represents the bear, with the remainder of the stars in the Hyades being dogs that are holding the beast at bay. In Buddhism, legends hold that Gautama Buddha was born when the Full Moon was in Vaisakha, or Taurus. Buddha's birthday is celebrated with the Wesak Festival, or Vesākha, which occurs on the first or second Full Moon when the Sun is in Taurus. , the Sun appears in the"
"goose to be two separate constellations, but later the stars were divided into a separate Anser and Vulpecula. Today, they have been merged again under the name of the fox, but the goose is remembered by the name of the star α Vulpeculae: Anser. Vulpecula Vulpecula is a faint constellation in the northern sky. Its name is Latin for ""little fox"", although it is commonly known simply as the fox. It was identified in the seventeenth century, and is located in the middle of the Summer Triangle (an asterism consisting of the bright stars Deneb, Vega, and Altair). There are"
"Bear. One astronomical tradition associates it with the mythology around Arcas, who was about to shoot and kill his own mother Callisto who had been transformed into a bear. Zeus averted their imminent tragic fate by transforming the boy into the constellation Boötes, called Arctophylax ""bear guardian"" by the Greeks, and his mother into Ursa Major (Greek: Arctos ""the bear""). The account is given in Hyginus's ""Astronomy"". Aratus in his ""Phaenomena"" said that the star Arcturus lay below the belt of Arctophylax, although according to Ptolemy in the ""Almagest"" it lay between his thighs. An alternative lore associates the name"
"of Jupiter and orbits every 500 days. Explanatory notes Citations Bibliography Online sources ""SIMBAD"" Aries (constellation) Aries is one of the constellations of the zodiac. It is located in the northern celestial hemisphere between Pisces to the west and Taurus to the east. The name Aries is Latin for ram, and its symbol is (Unicode ♈), representing a ram's horns. It is one of the 48 constellations described by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. It is a mid-sized constellation, ranking 39th overall size, with an area of 441 square degrees (1.1% of"
"17th century writer Edmund Chilmead. Islamic scholar Abū Rayḥān al-Bīrūnī referred to Orion as ""Kalb al-Jabbār"", ""the Dog of the Giant"". Among the Merazig of Tunisia, shepherds note six constellations that mark the passage of the dry, hot season. One of them, called ""Merzem"", includes the stars of Canis Major and Canis Minor and is the herald of two weeks of hot weather. In Chinese astronomy, the modern constellation of Canis Major is located in the Vermilion Bird (), where the stars were classified in several separate asterisms of stars. The Military Market () was a circular pattern of stars"
"Aries (constellation) Aries is one of the constellations of the zodiac. It is located in the northern celestial hemisphere between Pisces to the west and Taurus to the east. The name Aries is Latin for ram, and its symbol is (Unicode ♈), representing a ram's horns. It is one of the 48 constellations described by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. It is a mid-sized constellation, ranking 39th overall size, with an area of 441 square degrees (1.1% of the celestial sphere). Although Aries came to represent specifically the ram whose fleece became"
"geographical meaning, meaning ""Circle of the Bears"" (Ursa Major, the Great Bear; and Ursa Minor, the Little Bear), from Greek αρκτικός (""arktikos""), ""near the Bear"", from the word άρκτος (""arktos"") bear. As Earth rotates daily on its axis, the stars appear to move in circular paths around one of the celestial poles (the north celestial pole for observers in the Northern Hemisphere, or the south celestial pole for observers in the Southern Hemisphere). Stars far from a celestial pole appear to rotate in large circles; stars located very close to a celestial pole rotate in small circles and hence hardly"
"Virgo (constellation) Virgo is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for virgin, and its symbol is ♍. Lying between Leo to the west and Libra to the east, it is the second-largest constellation in the sky (after Hydra) and the largest constellation in the zodiac. It can be easily found through its brightest star, Spica. The bright star Spica makes it easy to locate Virgo, as it can be found by following the curve of the Big Dipper/Plough to Arcturus in Boötes and continuing from there in the same curve (""follow the arc to Arcturus"
"Lupus (constellation) Lupus is a constellation located in the deep Southern Sky. Its name is Latin for wolf. Lupus was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations, although it was previously an asterism associated with the neighboring constellation Centaurus. In ancient times, the constellation was considered an asterism within Centaurus, and was considered to have been an arbitrary animal, killed, or about to be killed, on behalf of, or for, Centaurus. An alternative visualization, attested by Eratosthenes, saw this constellation as a wineskin held by Centaurus."
"Major, Boötes, and Virgo. The constellation Boötes, was explicitly identified in the Hesiodic ""Astronomia"" (Αστρονομία) as Arcas, the ""Bear-warden"" (""Arktophylax""; Αρκτοφύλαξ): He is Arkas the son of Kallisto and Zeus, and he lived in the country about Lykaion. After Zeus had seduced Kallisto, Lykaon, pretending not to know of the matter, entertained Zeus, as Hesiod says, and set before him on the table the babe [Arkas] which he had cut up. The stars of Ursa Major were all circumpolar in Athens of 400 BCE, and all but the stars in the Great Bear's left foot were circumpolar in Ovid's Rome,"
"Argo Navis Argo Navis (the Ship Argo), or simply Argo, was a large constellation in the southern sky that has since been divided into the three constellations of Carina, Puppis and Vela. The genitive was ""Argus Navis"", abbreviated ""Arg"". Flamsteed and other early modern astronomers called the constellation just Navis (the Ship), genitive ""Navis"", abbreviated ""Nav"". It was identified in Greek mythology with the ""Argo"", the ship used by Jason and the Argonauts that sailed to Colchis in search of the Golden Fleece. The original constellation is presently found near the southern horizon of the Mediterranean sky, becoming visible in"