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URSA MAJOR AND URSA MINOR
THE GREAT BEAR AND THE SMALL BEAR
A REPORT PRESENTED TO:
SIR ALDRIN MALAKI
URSA MAJOR –
the great bear
Facts about Ursa Major –the great bear
• A constellation to be seen in northern celestial hemisphere.
• It is also known as the great bear and Charles Wain.
• Have different mythologies from different countries, different
lineages and civilization whereas those stories have relation to
its structure and its position. An example of civilization which
has mythology from Babylon, Roman , Greek and also other
native in the America.
• It is one of the 88 modern constellation, it is one of the known
constellation because its body and tail is a part that makes up
the big dipper.
Big Dipper
–the wagon or the plough
•
•
•
It is an asterism known of seven
stars which was known as
Distinct groupings in many
culture in the world.
It was the brightest among all
the stars.
It is used as a useful tool in
celestial navigation
URSA MINOR –
the small dipper of the small bear
Facts about Ursa Minor
–the small dipper or the small bear
• Faint star yet one of the 48 stars discovery in 2nd
century by Ptolemy and one of the constelation
remain in 88 modern constellation.
• It is a very important star most especially to the
navigator or mariners it is use to direct because it
headed the Polaris or the North star.
Mythology
Ursa major & ursa minor
Ursa major
Roman Mythology
• Jupiter lusts after a young woman named Calisto, a nymph of Diana.
Juno, Jupiter's jealous wife, transforms the beautiful Callisto into a
bear. Callisto, while being a bear later encounters her son Arcas.
Arcas almost kill the bear, but to stop Arcas, Jupiter turns them both
into bears and puts them 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 as a
celestial reference point for navigation. It is also referred to as the
"Wain".
▪Source Wikipedia
Native American Mythology
•
The Iroquois ,Native Americans interpreted Alioth, Mizar,
and Alkaid as three hunters pursuing the Great Bear.
According to one version of their myth, the first hunter
(Alioth) is carrying a bow and arrow to strike down the bear.
The second hunter (Mizar) carries a large pot — the star
Alcor — on his shoulder in which to cook the bear while the
third hunter (Alkaid) hauls a pile of firewood to light a fire
beneath the pot.
•source wikipedia
Ursa Minor
Greek Mythology
• Ursa Minor is usually associated with two different myths. In one, the
constellation represents Ida, the nymph who took care of Zeus on the
island of Crete when he was small, along with Adrasteia, the nymph
represented by the larger constellation Ursa Major. Zeus’ mother Rhea hid
Zeus on the island when he was very young to protect him from his father
Cronus. Cronus, fearful of an old prophecy that said that one of his children
would overthrow him, swallowed five of his children after they were born.
When Zeus was born, Rhea tricked Cronus into swallowing a stone instead,
and Zeus eventually fulfilled the prophecy. He freed his brothers Poseidon
and Hades and sisters Hera, Hestia and Demeter, and became the supreme
god of the Olympians.
• Source constellation-guide•
Another Greek Mythology
• in a different myth, the constellation represents Arcas, son of Zeus and the nymph
Callisto. Callisto had sworn a vow of chastity to Artemis, but was later unable to
resist Zeus’ advances and the two had a child, Arcas. When Zeus’ wife Hera found
out about the betrayal and the child, she turned the nymph into a bear. Callisto
spent the next 15 years wandering in the woods and avoiding hunters. One day, she
came face to face with her son. Scared, Arcas drew a spear, ready to kill the bear.
Luckily, Zeus saw the scene and intervened before it was too late. He sent a
whirlwind that scooped the mother and son up to the heavens, where Callisto
became Ursa Major and Arcas, Ursa Minor. Arcas, however, is more frequently
associated with the constellation Boötes, the herdsman In a slightly different
version of the myth, it is the goddess Artemis who turns Callisto into a bear for
breaking her chastity vow.
• Source constellation-guide
To God be the Glory!
To God be the Glory!