![]() They are called Guardians of the Pole as they march around the pole like sentries. Only the two at the end of the bowl are fairly bright. Most of the Little Dipper’s stars are faint. Because of the earth’s wobble the celestial pole shifts as the centuries go by, and different stars become pole stars at different times. Polaris, for all practical purposes, is this celestial North Pole, being only one degree off this point. The celestial North Pole is the point where the imaginary polar axis of the earth would touch the sky, if it were extended. ![]() Whenever you look at it and extend your arms out to the side you will be facing north, south will be behind you, your right arm will point east and left arm will point west. It is much smaller than the "Big Dipper", but contains Polaris, the Pole or North Star which is the most important navigational star in the sky.įrom earth Polaris appears to remain in the same location, while all the other stars seem to rotate around it, as if it is the center of the universe. Ursa Minor means little bear in Latin, but this circumpolar constellation resembles a dipper more than a bear and is therefore commonly called the Little Dipper. The distance to Polaris appears to be six times the distance between the pointer stars. The two pointer stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper are the two outermost stars at the end of the "scoop", that points directly at Polaris, our current North Star. During the winter the scoop raises up again towards a new planting position with its handle hanging down. In autumn the bowl is right-side-up, as in filling in the harvest. During the summer the handle points upwards as in getting ready to scoop up the harvest. ![]() In the spring the bowl is high above and inverted, as in pouring seeds into the earth. This constellation is a circumpolar constellation, which means it travels closely around the North Star it is always above the horizon never rising or setting it can be seen any time of the year, high or low in the sky. Ursa Major is highest in the sky in the spring and lowest in the autumn, when, according to Indian legends, the Bear is looking for a place to lie down for its winter hibernation. The actual star constellation that is referred to is The Great Bear Constellation, also called the Big Dipper or, Ursa Major. Seven Stars Constellation or just "Constellation" is one of the The Twelve Ornaments or the Twelve Symbols of Sovereignty that was probably known as early as the Zhou dynasty (11th-3rd century BC). ![]()
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