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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Posts Tagged ‘Ursa Minor’

Earthsky Tonight—July 4, Draco the Dragon on July

Earthsky Tonight—July 4, Draco the Dragon on July evenings

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org At nightfall tonight, the starlit Eyes of Draco the Dragon peer down upon you from almost overhead. Their names are Eltanin and Rastaban. If the sun, Eltanin and Rastaban all were located the same distance from us, it’s thought that Eltanin would shine 600 times more brightly than our sun and that Rastaban would shine 950 times more brightly. Though Rastaban is actually the more luminous of these two stars, Eltanin appears ... Full Story

Earthsky Tonight—June 2: Little Dipper, Clipped

Earthsky Tonight—June 2: Little Dipper, Clipped wings of Draco the Dragon

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org The Little Dipper is an asterism – a star pattern that is not a constellation. The Little Dipper really belongs to the constellation Ursa Minor the Little Bear. Richard Hinkley Allen in his book STAR NAMES Their Lore and Meaning claims the Greek constellation Ursa Minor was never mentioned in the literary works of Homer (9th century B.C.) or Hesiod (8th century B.C.). That is probably because this constellation was not around at ... Full Story

Earthsky Tonight — March 4, 2010: Recognize the Big

Earthsky Tonight — March 4, 2010: Recognize the Big Dipper … and Little Dipper

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org We received a question about the Big and Little Dippers. “How can I locate both Ursa Minor and Ursa Major? I am seeing one of them in the sky . . . but cannot tell which one and where the other one is.” The answer is that, if you are seeing only one dipper, it is probably the Big Dipper in the constellation Ursa Major. This constellation, also called the Greater Bear, contains the Big Dipper asterism that is familiar to so ... Full Story