Home ConstellationUrsa Major

Ursa Major



Better known by its nicknames ‘the Big Dipper’ or ‘the Plough’, Ursa Major is among the most instantly recognisable groupings of stars. It is also the third largest of all the constellations. In antiquity, it was one of the original 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD.

Together with Orion and the Pleiades (M45), it is one of only three astronomical entities which appear in the Bible.

Ursa Major is primarily known from the asterism of its main seven stars, which has been called the “Big Dipper,” “the Wagon,” “Charles’s Wain,” or “the Plough,” among other names. All but one of the seven stars which make up the main body of the Big Dipper are second-magnitude stars. The star Mizar, which forms the bend in the ladle’s handle, is in fact a double-star with a close neighbor Alcor, which can easily be seen with the unaided eye. The ability to distinguish them is often quoted as having been an ancient sight test, though most people are able to do so. Due to the Binary nature of Mizar and Alcor, in India, it is a tradition for the Husband to show his newly wed wife this pair with an intention to remain together forever like the stars.

In the Indian scriptures and astronomy systems, Big Dipper is called the ಸಪ್ತರ್ಷಿ ಮಂಡಲ (Saptarshi Mandala) which means the constellation of the 7 sages. With each of the 7 stars being named after the seven great sages of the current eon. Among the 7 sages, Mizar is named after the Sage Vashishtha and Alcor, after his wife, Arundhati. This symbolism is the origin of the tradition mentioned above.

The stars Merak and Dubhe are often called the ‘pointer stars’ because they form a line which points directly to Polaris, the pole star.

Ursa Major also contains countless deep sky objects, including the bright face-on spiral galaxy M81 and its close companion M82. Close to the handle of the ladle lies the Pinwheel Galaxy (M101).

Ursa Major is one of the oldest known constellations and has more named stars in it than any other constellation. It has been known by many names, but the form of the bear has become the most common, even though it’s quite difficult to see this image in the stars.

In Greek mythology, Zeus was attracted by many nymphs, but his favorite was the beautiful nymph Callisto. His secret visits to earth to meet with her only added to Hera’s jealousy and determination to get revenge against these women. One day, as Zeus was walking through the forest with Callisto, he saw his wife Hera coming. Unable to hide Callisto in time, he turned her into a large brown bear. When Hera arrived, she saw only Zeus walking by himself through the forest. She looked around, searching for someone with Zeus, but saw only an old brown bear. She still did not trust Zeus and insisted that he return to Mount Olympus. Zeus did not want to go because he wanted to change his girlfriend Callisto back into her human form before leaving. But Hera insisted. So Zeus went with Hera, leaving Callisto as a large brown bear. Unknown to Zeus, Arcas, Callisto’s son who was a great hunter, was out in the woods hunting that day. As chance would have it, he saw this great big brown bear. He put an arrow to his bow, took careful aim, and shot that great bear through the heart. Right before his startled eyes, Arcas watched the bear as it died change back into the form of his mother Callisto with an arrow through her heart. Arcas began to cry loudly for his mother and what he had done to her. When he realized that it was Zeus that had changed her into the bear, he grew even angrier. Zeus, fearing that Hera might hear the cries, went down to earth to try to appease Arcas. In order to hide what he had done, Zeus changed Callisto back into a bear and placed her form, as a constellation, into the northern sky as the Big Dipper. He then changed Arcas into the small bear (the Little Dipper). As Arcas was being placed into the sky, he turned to look at his mother Callisto (now the Big Dipper). That is why the Little Dipper is curved toward the Big Dipper, so that Arcas can watch over his mother Callisto for all eternity.

ಸಪ್ತರ್ಷಿ ಮಂಡಲ Saptarshi Mandala

Ursa Major Contains

View Ursa Major in 3D


Source: Wikipedia, in-the-sky.org
Image Courtesy: Sky&Telescope & IAU, Illustration Images linked from Urania's Mirror on Wikmedia Commons by Sidney Hall

Share: