Constellation of Ursa Minor
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Ursa Minor
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Image and text ©2008 Akira Fujii/David Malin Images.

In the picture above north is around Polaris and the image covers 29.3 x 36.7 degrees.
Image centre is located at 23:57:26.6, +74:17:18 (H:M:S, D:M:S, J2000) Astrometric data from Astrometry.net.

Ursa Minor
Best seen in the early evening in June

Ursa Minor (the Little Bear) is intimately linked to Polaris, the North Star which may be found at the end of the trail of stars that look like the Little Dipper. Ursa Minor does not appear have any mythology associated with it, rather it was first mentioned in the 6th century B.C. by Thales of Miletus as a navigational aid for Phoenician sailors. On the other hand, in the mythology of Ursa Major, two bears were flung into the sky by their tails by Zeus, in a fit of jealousy. The throw was so violent that the bear's tails were elongated.

Named stars in Ursa Minor (Greek alphabet)
Alifa al Farkadain (ζ UMi), Kochab (β UMi), Pherkad (γ UMi), Polaris (Pole Star, α UMi), Yildun (δUMi).
Constellations adjoining Ursa Minor: Camelopardalis, Cepheus, Draco.

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David Malin, 2009 October 15