People call the part of the sky where the Big Dipper is located () constellation and the part of the sky where the Big Dipper is located () constellation.

People call the part of the sky where the Big Dipper is located (the Big Bear) constellation.

Ursa major? Major, UMa) is one of the northern constellations, with an area of about 1280 square degrees. It is located near Ursa minor and Leo, opposite Cassiopeia. Suitable for spring observation, it is the constellation of the famous Big Dipper. ?

The part of the sky where Polaris is located is called (bear) constellation.

Bear: Bear? smaller

Abbreviation: UMi

Approximate area: 256 square degrees

Location on the celestial sphere: North celestial pole and its vicinity.

Constellations suitable for observation in spring, the famous Polaris and Arctic Constellation.

The difference between Ursa Major and Ursa Minor

There are more than 100 stars in Ursa major, including 6 stars. Two second-class stars, six third-class stars, and many other fourth-class stars? . The six second-class stars are all distributed on the Big Dipper, so the Big Dipper is particularly eye-catching in Ursa Major. After dusk in spring, this big bear hangs upside down in the northern night sky, and its tail (that is, the barrel handle) points to the east. Therefore, people in China regard Ursa Major as a sign of spring. ?

Ursa major has a famous binary star, which was called Kaiyang Star and Auxiliary Star in ancient China. People often use them to check their eyesight. On a clear night, if the auxiliary star next to Kaiyang Star can be seen by naked eyes, the vision test can reach 1.5? . Astronomers observed that the distance between Kaiyang star and auxiliary star is very close, but in fact they are far apart. There are many binary stars or multiple stars in the celestial sphere, which seem to be together, but in fact they are not related. ?

The constellation Ursa minor leads a straight line from the two stars β and α at the mouth of Ursa major, extending to the other side five times away from them. One star is not very bright. This is Alpha Ursa minor, which is also the famous Polaris. Throughout the year, no matter where the handle of Beidou points, the connection between β and α always extends to Polaris. Therefore, these two stars were also called Polaris in ancient China. ?

The star map of Ursa minor. Connecting the main bright stars in the star map is more like a little Beidou than a little bear. The Big Dipper in Ursa minor is not only much smaller than that in Ursa major, but also the other seven stars are smaller than 4 except that α and β are second-class stars and γ is third-class. ? Unlike the Big Dipper in Ursa Major, the other six stars are all second-class except δ. So this little Big Dipper is far less eye-catching than the Big Dipper. People usually notice only the North Star.