Ursa Major - Ursa Major Ursa Major is a constellation visible throughout the year in the northern hemisphere. Its name means "Great Bear" in Latin, and is derived from the legend of Callisto. Its seven brightest stars form a famous asterism known in North America as the Big Dipper, because the major stars can be seen to follow the rough outline of a large ladle, or dipper; this is recognized as a grouping of stars in many cultures throughout the eras. In the United Kingdom it is commonly known as the Plough, and was sometimes called by the old name King Charles's Wain ('wain' meaning 'wagon'). Ursa Major Abbreviation UMa Genitive Ursae Majoris Meaning in English the Great Bear Right ascension 10.67 h Declination 55.38° Visible to latitude Between.
Ursa Minor - Ursa Minor Ursa Minor Abbreviation UMi Genitive Ursae Minoris Meaning in English Little Bear Right ascension 15 h Declination 70° Visible to latitude Between 90° and -10° On meridian 9 p.m., June 25 Area - Total Ranked 56th 256 sq. deg. Number of stars with apparent magnitude < 3 2 Brightest star - Apparent magnitude Polaris 2.02 Meteor showers None Bordering constellations Draco Camelopardalis Cepheus Ursa Minor is a constellation in the northern sky, whose name means the "Lesser Bear" in Latin. It is one of the 88 modern constellations, and was also one of the 48 listed by Ptolemy. It is notable as the location of the north celestial pole, although this will change after some centuries due to the effects of precession. Table of.
Hera - Hera discovered the deception, she cursed Echo to only speak the words of others (hence our modern word "echo"). Leto and Artemis/Apollo When Hera discovered that Leto was pregnant and that Hera's husband, Zeus, was the father, she banned Leto from giving birth on "terra-firma", or the mainland, or any island at sea. She found the floating island of Delos, which was neither mainland nor a real island and gave birth there. The island was surrounded by swans. As a gesture of gratitude, Delos was secured with four pillars. The island later became sacred to Apollo. Alternatively, Hera kidnapped Ilithyia, the goddess of childbirth, to prevent Leto from going into labor. The other gods forced Hera to let her go. Either way, Artemis was born first and then assisted with the.
History of astronomy - Vedic notices mark the beginning of the year and that of the vernal equinox in Orion; this was the case around 4500 BC. Fire altars, with astronomical basis, have been found in the third millennium cities of India. The texts that describe their designs are conservatively dated to the first millennium BC, but their contents appear to be much older. The important names of astronomers from India are Yajnavalkya, Lagadha, Aryabhata, Brahmagupta, Bhaskara, Madhava, and Nilakantha. Mesopotamia Sumer Chaldea, Babylonia Mesoamerica Maya The Maya calculated the solar year to somewhat greater accuracy than the Gregorian calendar. They made detailed tables for calculating phases of the Moon and the movements of Venus for centuries in the past or future. East Asia China Ancient Greece Greek Philosophers thought of several models to explain.
Draco (constellation) - Draco is Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543). Another one is the lenticular galaxy NGC 5866, sometimes considered as Messier object M102. Neighbouring constellations: Boötes - Hercules - Lyra - Cygnus - Cepheus - Ursa Minor - Camelopardalis - Ursa Major.
Alpha Centauri - stars would keep these planets from forming. Some have speculated that any terrestrial planets in the Alpha Centauri system may be dry because it is believed that Jupiter and Saturn were crucial at directing comets into the inner solar system and providing the inner planets with a source of water. The red dwarf Proxima Centauri is only about 13,000 astronomical units away from Alpha Centauri and may be in orbit about it, with a period on the order of 500,000 years or more. For this reason, Proxima is sometimes referred to as Alpha Centauri C. However, it is not clear if it really is in orbit, although the association is unlikely to be entirely accidental as it shares approximately the same motion through space as the larger star system. Viewed from.
Alioth - Ursae Majoris, is the brightest star in the constellation Ursa Major and, at magnitude 1.76, is the thirty-first brightest star in the sky. It is the star in the "tail" of the bear closest to its "body" and, as such, a member of the Ursa Major moving cluster. According to Hipparcos, Alioth is 81 light years (25 parsecs) from Earth. Its spectral type is A0p; the "p" stands for peculiar, as the spectrum of its light is quite odd, of a kind characteristic of an Alpha2 Canum Venaticorum-class variable. Alioth, as a representative of this type, is believed to look the way it does because of two interacting processes: first, the star's strong magnetic field separating different elements salting the star's hydrogen fuel, then a rotation axis at an angle to.
Alcor - Foundation 80 Ursae Majoris a star in Ursa Major This is a disambiguation page. If you followed a link here, you might want to go back and fix that link..
Aquila (constellation) - 2.72m η Aql: This variable star is one of the brightest classical Cepheids; its brightness varies between 3.48 mag and 4.39 mag every 7.177 days. 15 Aql: This double star is a yellow K star of 5.4 mag accompanied by a 7th mag star; it can easily be observed with small telescopes. Notable deep-sky objects Two interesting planetary nebulae lie in Aquila: NGC 6803 shows a small but bright ring NGC 6781 which bears some resemblance with the Owl Nebula in Ursa Major. More deep-sky objects: NGC 6709: an open cluster of 6.7m NGC 6755: an open cluster of 7.5m NGC 6760: a globular cluster of 9.1m History Two major novae have been observed in Aquila; the first one was in 389 BC and was recorded to be as bright as.
Artemis - sea to Delos the next day to give birth to Apollo. Childhood At three years old, Artemis asked her father, Zeus, to grant her perpetual virginity. He did so. All of her companions remained virgins, and she guarded her chastity very closely. Men Actaeon She was once bathing nude in the woods when the hunter Actaeon stumbled across her. He stopped and stared, amazed at her ravishing beauty. When she saw him, Artemis changed him to a stag and, disgusted at his stares, set his own hounds to kill him. He was torn apart. Alternatively, Actaeon boasted that he was a better hunter than she and Artemis turned him into a stag and he was eaten by his hounds. Orion After leaving Eos, Orion became a follower of Artemis. She eventually.
Arcturus - spectral class) a giant gets, the more variable it will be. Extreme cases like Mira undergo large swings over hundreds of days; Arcturus is not very red and is a borderline case between variability and stability with its short period and tiny range. Hipparcos also suggested that Arcturus is a binary star, with the companion about twenty times dimmer than the primary and orbiting close enough to be at the very limits of our current ability to make it out. The most recent studies of the issue are generally coming down on the side of it being a single star, however. The name of the star derives from Ancient Greek Arktouros and means "Bear Guard". This is a reference to it being the brightest star in the constellation Boötes, the Hunter,.
Arcas - kill his mother during a hunt, not recognizing her. Zeus put them both in the sky as Ursa Major (Callisto) and Ursa Minor (Arcas). According to varying versions, Arcas was raised by Maia or Lycaon. An alternate version: One of Artemis' companions, Callisto lost her virginity to Zeus, who had come disguised as Artemis. Enraged, Artemis changed her into a bear. Callisto's son, Arcas, nearly killed his mother while hunting, but Zeus or Artemis stopped him and placed them both in the sky as Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. Hera was not please with the placement of Callisto and Arcas in the sky, so she asked her nurse, Tethys, to help. Tethys, a marine goddess, cursed the constellations to forever circle the sky and never drop below the horizon, hence explaining.
Tethys (mythology) - Titans, Tethys raised Rhea, her god-child. Hera was not please with the placement of Callisto and Arcas in the sky, as the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, so she asked her nurse, Tethys, to help. Tethys, a marine goddess, cursed the constellations to forever circle the sky and never drop below the horizon, hence explaining why they are circumpolar. Consorts/Children With Oceanus Achelous Acheron Alpheus Amaltheia Amphitrite Asia Asopus Callirhoe Catillus Cebren Cephissus Circe Clitunno (Roman mythology) Clymene Crinisus Dione Doris Electra Enipeus Eurynome Inachus Lysithea Melia Meliboea Merope Nilus Peneus Perse Philyra Pleione Rhode Scamander Telesto Tiberinus (Roman mythology) Tibertus (Roman mythology) Tyche Volturnus (Roman mythology).
Beidou navigation system - Republic of China to develop an independent satellite navigation system. "Beidou" is the Chinese name of the Ursa Major constellation. Beidou 1A was launched on 30 October 2000 and Beidou 1B followed on 20 December 2000. China plans to complete the system with a second pair, and Beidou 2A was put into orbit on 24 May 2003. Unlike the GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo systems, which offer global positioning, Beidou uses satellites in geostationary orbit. This means that the system does not require a large constellation of satellites, but it also limits the coverage to areas on Earth where the satellites are visible. China has also associated itself with the Galileo project, which is not yet operational..
Boötes - Ranked 13th 907 sq. deg. Number of stars with apparent magnitude < 3 3 Brightest star - Apparent magnitude Arcturus (α Boötis) -0.04 Meteor showers January Bootids June Bootids Quadrantids Bordering constellations Canes Venatici Coma Berenices Corona Borealis Draco Hercules Serpens Virgo Ursa Major Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 Notable features 2 Notable deep sky objects 3 Mythology Notable features The name of Arcturus, the alpha star of Boötes, means bear driver. It is a zero magnitude red giant and is the fourth brightest star as seen from Earth in the night sky. It is one of the vertices of the Spring Triangle, the other two being Spica (α Virginis) and Denebola (β Leonis). Izar (ε Boo), having an apparent magnitude of 2.7, is the third brightest star in the constellation..
Camelopardalis - Total Ranked 18th 757 sq. deg. Number of stars with apparent magnitude < 3 0 Brightest star - Apparent magnitude β Camelopardalis 4.03 Meteor showers None Bordering constellations Draco Ursa Minor Cepheus Cassiopeia Perseus Auriga Lynx Ursa Major.
Canes Venatici - with apparent magnitude < 3 1 Brightest star - Apparent magnitude Cor Caroli 2.90 Meteor showers Canes Venaticids Bordering constellations Ursa Major Boötes Coma Berenices Canes Venatici (the hunting dogs) is a small northern constellation that was introduced by Johannes Hevelius in the 17th century. It is supposed to represent the dogs Chara and Asterion held on a leash by Boötes. Among the objects in Canes Venatici is the Whirlpool Galaxy, M51, a spiral galaxy that is seen face on. This was the first galaxy recognised as having a spiral structure, this structure being first observed by Lord Rosse in 1845. M51, known as the Whirlpool Galaxy. At the top of the picture is a companion galaxy which is being disrupted by the gravitational forces of M51..
Callisto (mythology) - Hera, Zeus' wife, then turned Callisto into a bear out of revenge. Later, Callisto's son with Zeus, Arcas, nearly killed her in a hunt but Zeus placed them both in the sky as the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. An alternate version: One of Artemis' companions, Callisto lost her virginity to Zeus, who had come disguised as Artemis. Enraged, Artemis changed her into a bear. Callisto's son, Arcas, nearly killed his mother while hunting, but Zeus or Artemis stopped him and placed them both in the sky as Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. Another alternate version: Artemis killed Callisto in bear form, deliberately. Hera was not pleased with the placement of Callisto and Arcas in the sky, so she asked her nurse, Tethys, to help. Tethys, a marine goddess, cursed.
Chinese astrology - Vietnamese zodiac Background The ancient Chinese astronomers called the five major planets by the name of the Chinese five elements. Venus is Metal (gold); Jupiter is Wood; Mercury is Water; Mars is Fire; Saturn is Earth. The position of the five planets, the sun, the moon and comets in the sky and the Chinese zodiac sign at the time a person was born determine the destiny of a person's life according to the Chinese astrology. An laborious system of computing one's fate and destiny based on one birthday and birth hours (known as 紫微斗數) is still used regularly in modern days Chinese astrology. The twenty eight Chinese constellation "[xiu4]" (宿) are quite different from the eighty eight Western constellations. For example, the big dipper (Ursa Major) is known as (斗) [dou3];.
Zeus - righteous and just. At the marriage of Zeus and Hera, a nymph named Chelone was disrespectful (or refused to attend). Zeus condemned her to eternal silence. When Memnon died, Zeus felt pity for his mother, Eos, the dawn-goddess, and granted him immortality. Zeus made the decision to marry Aphrodite off to Hephaestus in order to prevent violence over her between the many gods who lusted after the goddess of beauty. Zeus, with Hera, turned King Haemus and Queen Rhodope into mountains (Balkan and Despoto, respectively) for their vanity. Zeus exchanged a caduceus for the first flute with Hermes. Zeus turned Atalanta and Hippomenes (or Melanion) into lions because they had sex in one of his temples. Lycaon Lycaon, son of Pelasgus and Meliboea was the mythical first king of Arcadia. He.
