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Wikipedia |
R.H. Allen: Star Names |
Ian Ridpath: Star Tales |
Universe Guide |
Sea and Sky: Constellations |
IAU Map |
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Ursa MinorStar Lore |
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UrsaMinor is the northernmost constellation in the sky.
Ursa Minor has traditionally been important for navigation, as its main star, Polaris lies nearly in a direct line with the Earth's rotational axis "above" the North Pole. Its Latin name means "Lesser Bear" but it is better known as the Little Bear.
Ursa Minor is similar shaped as the nearby asterism of the Big Dipper
and many myth regarding the |
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Ancient Mesopotamia
While almost all of the (Greek) Ptolemaic Constellations
have their roots in ancient Mesopotamia, there were no bears in Mesopotamian star charts.
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Akkadian cylinder seal impression depicting a vegetation goddess, possibly Ninhursag;
Wikipedia
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Rogers also suggests
(with a question mark) that the MUL.APIN name IBILA.E.MAH
represents Polaris. He translates IBILA.E.MAH with "The star which stands in its rope: The Heir of the Sublime Temple, the first-ranking son of Anu.  Sources: J. H. Rogers: Origins of the Ancient Constellations: I The Mesopotamian Tradition, Brian Harris: Ancient Skies: Early Babylonian astronomy, with specific reference to MUL.APIN |
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Norse and Viking Mythology
The Vikings and other Nordic nations had the same concept as the Babylonians:
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In Finland, as R. H. Allen points out "apparently alone among the northern nations of Europe in this conception" the constellation is seen
as a bear, being called Vähä Otawa, the Little Bear.
Polaris is known in Finland as Taehti, the Star at the Top of the Heavenly Mountain. Source: R. H. Allen |
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Phoenician Navigation
The Phoenicians were the first sailors in recorded history to use
Polaris and the constellation Ursa Minor as a navigational aid.
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Phoenician ship 2nd century ADcarved on the face of a sarcophagus Ancient History Encyclopedia |
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According to Ian Ridpath, It is not clear whether Thales actually invented the
constellation or merely introduced it to the Greeks.
Eratosthenes reported that the Greeks referred to Ursa Minor as Φοινίκη, the "Phoenician." Source: Wikipedia |
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Greek Mythology
The ancient Greek name of the constellation is Κυνοσούρα, latinized Cynosura, the "dog's tail".
The origin of this name is unclear (Ursa Minor being a "dog's tail" would imply that another constellation nearby is "the dog", but no such
constellation is known). However, in most artistic renderings the bears representing Ursa Major and Ursa Minor are often presented with unusual long tails,
which bears don't have.
Aratus, also using the term Cynosura, picks up on the tail of the nymphs nursing the infant
Zeus. In his version, the nymphs were Adrasteia and
Ida. Zeus placed them the sky as Ursa Major (Adrasteia) and Ursa Minor (Ida).
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Ursa Minor in Urania's Mirror, 1824Source: Wikipedia
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The North Star in Northern Europe
Due to precession, the celestial north pole was void of stars in ancient times. The first mentioning
of a pole star usable for navigation can be found in England at around the 8th or 9th century AD.
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Tiwaz runeSource: etsy.com |
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The North Star in Slavic Mythology
In Slavic mythology,
Polaris was called Perun's eye and countless Slavic and Hungarian astronomers
continued this tradition – most known ones are Nicolaus Copernicus and
Franz Xaver von Zach.
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Figurine of Perun12th century Veliky Novgorod Source: Wikipedia |
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The name Polaris
Ian Ridpath tells us that the first known usage of the name
Stella Polaris applied to this star in print was in an edition of the
Alfonsine Tables published in Venice in 1492. According to
R. H. Allen, in the
Alfonsine Tables, the term Alrucaba et est Stella polaris sive Polus was applied to both Kochab (β UMi)
and Polaris (α UMi).
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Stöffler's Globe atLandesmuseum Württemberg Sources: Wikipedia, Ian Ridpath, R. H. Allen |
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Islamic Astronomy
R.H. Allen tells us, that
early in Arab astronomy Ursa Minor was called the Lesser Bier (with Ursa Major
being the Larger Bier).
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The Mourning Daughtersby Apianus, 1533 Source: Ian Ridpath
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| In 1533, German astronomer and cartographer Petrus Apianus placed the mourning Daughters under the Latin name Filiae Ursae Majoris in a planisphere showing a combination of Ptolemaic and Arab constellations. |
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R.H. Allen reports two
Arab names for Polaris:
Al Ḳiblah, "because it is the star least distant from the pole ... and helped them, in any strange location distant from an established place
of worship, to know the points of the compass and thus the direction of Mecca and its Kaʽbah.
As marking the north pole it also bore the title Al Ḳuṭb al Shamāliyy, the Northern Axle. In Damascus, Polaris was called Mismār, meaning Needle or Nail, while the Turks called it as Yilduz, the Star par excellence. A Turkish myth reports that its light was concealed for a time after their capture of Constantinople. Source: R.H. Allen |
Ursa Minor in a colored edition of the Book of Fixed StarsSource: Utrecht University |
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Ancient India
Subhash Kak writes in
Birth and Development of
Indian Astronomie, that in the Vedic periode,
the stars later known in the West as the Big Dipper and as Ursa Minor were called "the Riksas" - the bears.
Early in Indian history, the star nearest the pole (which until 300 AD was Dubhe [β UMi]) was known as Grahadhāra, the Pivot of the Planets. |
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In ancient Hindu literature, Polaris is personified as
Dhruva, the son of the King Uttānapāda.
The ancient text of the Vishnu Purana tells us, that Vishnu appeared to Dhruva in a meditation. When Vishnu offered Dhruva to grant him a wish. Having no desire for worldly or heavenly pleasures, Dhruva only asked for a life in memory of the Lord. Vishnu granted him Dhruvapada - the state where he would become a celestial body. the Saptarshis, seven Rishi (enlightened people), represented by the Big Dipper gave Dhruva the most revered seat of a Star. Sources: Wikipedia, R.H. Allen |
Dhruva as the Pole star; by Manaku ca. 1740Source: Wikipedia |
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Ancient China
In Chinese, Ursa Minor is written
小 熊 座.
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"In ancient China, the polar region of the sky took on immense symbolism because of its literally pivotal position, mirroring the central authority
of the Emperor on Earth. The area including the modern Ursa Minor plus parts of
Camelopardalis, Draco,
Cepheus, and
Cassiopeia was known to the Chinese as
Zǐ Wēi Yuán, the Purple Palace Enclosure or Central Palace.
Surrounding it was a wall delineated by 15 stars, divided into western and eastern sections. The eastern wall started in present-day Draco and went through Cepheus into Cassiopeia, while the western section was in Draco, Ursa Major, and Camelopardalis. Within this central enclosure lived the Emperor and his immediate family, depicted as an arc of five stars called Bìijí, the North Pole Office. In sequence polewards they were: Tàizǐ, the Crown Prince (γ UMi); Di, the Emperor himself (β UMi), described as ‘the reddest and brightest star of the group’; Shùzǐ, son of a concubine (5 UMi); and Hòugōng, the Imperial Concubine or Empress (4 UMi). At the end of the chain, over the border in Camelopardalis, was Struve 1694; this was known as Tianshu, the Celestial Pivot, or Niuxing, the Pivot Star, because it was closest to the celestial pole and hence acted as the pole star in those times despite being a mere 5th magnitude. Keeping with the domestic theme, six faint stars in southern Ursa Minor and Draco formed the Emperor’s bedroom, Tiānchuáng. Although Chinese astronomers did not recognize the Little Dipper we know today, they did have a similar dipper shape called Gòuchén (‘curved array’) formed by some of the same stars: ζ, ε, δ and α Ursae Minoris, plus two other unlabelled stars in Cepheus. What Gòuchén represents is unclear, though – it is variously described as the Empress, the residence of the Emperor, or even six generals Gòuchén contains the present-day Polaris, but it was not known as that in ancient Chinese times. It is usually said that the Chinese called this star Tianhuang dadi, meaning ‘great emperor of heaven’ or ‘high god of heaven’, referring to the ultimate sky god – presumably the authority from which the terrestrial Emperor took his mandate to rule on Earth. Sources: Wikipedia and Ian Ridpath |
Chinese constellations in Ursa MinorMap based on seasky.org
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Cree
The Cree call the seven stars that make up the Little Dipper Atima Atchakosuk, the Dog Stars.
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Atima Atchakosuk; Source: Atchakosuk
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Our natootim-uk, our relatives, the Wolf, Coyote and Fox saw this and were concerned.
The wolves held a council and it was decided that they would send two of their own to live with the people. The council of Coyotes and council of Foxes also decided this same action. Two pups from each of the councils were sent to all the four directions of humankind. They came, adapted, changed and flourished. From these gifts came all the dogs that now inhabit the world. These dogs now guard our homes, communities, camps, and loved ones. To honor this sacrifice made by our natootim-uk, the Creator placed a reminder of the dogs in the heavens, which would forever be a guardian for humans. Polaris anchors the dogs’ leash as the dog runs around the circumference of the sky-camp, alert and ever on guard. The stars of this constellation, particularly those on the handle of the Little Dipper, represent the Wolf (Polaris), the Coyote (δ UMi) and the Fox (ε UMi); the four bowl stars represent the pups that were sent to the four directions of humankind.
Polaris is also known as Keewatin, the Going Home Star. It represents the northern direction
and keewatinook – the north winds. It is an important star for people who live under the Ahkoop Atchakosuk, or blanket of stars.
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With their Ojibwe and Dakota neigbors,
the Cree share the legend "How Fisher went to Skyland."
Some anthropologists believe the legend dates back to a time of perpetual winter - the end of the last ice age, when the first people migrated to North America. Ocik Atchakosuk, the fisher (Pekania pennanti) is a mamal belonging to the weasel family. While the Ojibwe placed Fisher in the sky as the Big Dipper, Cree astronomy visualized it as Ursa Minor. An extended version of the story can be found at ojibwe-dakota-in-mn.com. Here is a shortened version, told on WPXR.org: |
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"In the days of perpetual winter, the days were cold and the food was scarce. One day, Ojiig the Fisher and his strongest friends, Otter, Lynx,
and Wolverine, decided to climb the highest mountain and break through the barrier around the Skyland and return the warm weather to the earth.
After several tries, Wolverine and Fisher broke through the sky and found the warm weather hoarded by the sky people. While there, he heard the beautiful songs of caged birds, and he realized if he freed these birds, and they flew down to earth, they would provide good food. As he was releasing the birds, the sky people returned and tried to stop him from escaping. Rather than dive back through the hole, he waited and chewed the hole in the sky larger to let as much warm air out as possible. The Fisher had magic that protected him from the arrows the sky people fired, but eventually they hit the one vulnerable part of his body, the tail, and he started to fall from the sky. The spirits took pity on him, and caught him before he hit the ground, and gave him a place of honor in the sky. That place is the visible constellation we were raised to call the big dipper, and the handle is the tail. |
Fisher; Wikipedia
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Every year, he makes his journey up into the sky, and every winter he breaks through to free the songbirds and the warm weather. And, every winter he is struck by the arrow and begins to fall back first from the sky. But then, as he brings an end to winter, he returns to earth and the journey begins anew." Sources: WPXR.org, Atchakosuk, Stewart, Williamson: They dance in the sky |
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Inuit
In Inuit astronomy, the three brightest stars - Polaris,
Kochab and
Pherkad - were known as Nuutuittut "never moving", though the term is more
frequently used in the singular to refer to Polaris alone.
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Navajo
The North Star, called Náhookòs Bikò‘, the Central Fire, depicts the central fire of a
hogan, a Navajo home.
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Náhookòs Bikò‘
© Melvin Bainbridge
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Ojibwe
On the Ojibwe Star Map, Ursa Minor is depicted as Maang, the Loon.
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Pawnee
The Skidi Pawnee saw the stars of the Big Dipper and the
Little Dipper as stretcher-bearers who carried the sick and
the death.
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Flags and Coat of Arms |
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The state flag of Alaska displays eight gold stars, forming the
Big Dipper and Polaris, on a dark blue field.
The Big Dipper is an asterism in the
constellation Ursa Major which symbolizes a bear, an animal indigenous to Alaska. As depicted on the flag, its stars can be used as a guide by the
novice to locate Polaris and determine true north.
The design was created by Benny Benson of Seward and selected from among roughly 700 entries in a 1927 contest. Source: Wikipedia |
Alaska State Flag; Wikipedia
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The official flag of Nunavut was proclaimed on 1 April 1999, along with the Territory of Nunavut
in Canada. It features a red inuksuk - a traditional Inuit land marker—and a blue star, which
represents Niqirtsuituq, the North Star, and the leadership of elders in the community.
The colours blue and yellow represent the riches of the land, sea and sky. Source: Wikipedia |
Nunavut Territory Flag; Wikipedia
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The flag of the Community of Madrid is crimson red, with seven silver, five-pointed
stars. The stars represents each of the administrative areas of the province of Madrid.
The stars are also thought to represent the Ursa Major and Ursa Minor constellations, in reference to the bear of the City of Madrid's coat of arms. Source: Wikipedia |
Community of Madrid; Wikipedia
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In 1212, the Council of Madrid used an ensign that shown a bear with the seven stars of Ursa Major or Ursa Minor. This flag was used in the
Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa.
In 1222, the ensign was changed showing the bear, which had been displayed grazing, now standing on its hind legs, rampant, to eat fruits from a tree. Seven eight-pointed stars where shown on a bordure Azure. Throughout the centuries, the ensign has been modified several times. The current version was adopted in 1982. Source: Wikipedia |
1212
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1982
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Modern Day Fiction
In the best selling comedy science fiction series
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by
Douglas Adams, Light City, the only city on the planet
Ursa Minor Beta is where the headquarters of the editorial offices of
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy are situated.
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When you are tired of Ursa Minor Beta you are tired of lifeSource: Shirt Woot
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