The most noticeable and well-known constellation without exception is, of course, Ursa Major. Rather, it is not she herself who is clearly visible in the night sky, but part of it - the Big Bucket. If you look closely, then below and to the right of it you can see several more stars that make up the paws and the head of the Bear. The shape of this constellation is really very interesting. After all, no one has ever seen bears with such long tails.
The most visible part of the constellation
The number of bright stars in the Big Dipper bucket is known to everyone. There are exactly seven of them. The name of these stars was given by Arab astronomers in the Middle Ages. For our ear, their “names” sound really strange:
- Merak.
- Mizar.
- Forever.
- Megrets.
- Dubge.
- Aliot.
- Benetnash.
From the earth, these stars seem equidistant. In fact, this is far from the case. The number of bright stars in the bucket of the Ursa Major is seven and they are all at equal distances from the Earth and the Sun.
Closest to our planet is Benetnash. To the farthest star - Aliot - sixty light years. Nevertheless, she looks brighter than Benetnash. This is the brightest and most brilliant object of the Bucket. According to the apparent intensity of the emitted light, all the stars in this part of the Ursa Major are close to the stars of the second magnitude.
Interesting Facts
If you look very carefully at one of the stars of the Bucket - Mitsaru, you can notice faint flickering right next to her. The explanation is very simple. Mizar is not an ordinary star, but a double.
The facility located right next to it is called Alcor. In Arabic, these two words are translated as “Horse” and “Horseman”. Alcor and Mizar are one of the most visible double stars from Earth.
The number of bright stars in the bucket of Ursa Major is seven. However, if you look at it with binoculars or a telescope, you will see two more small strokes of light. Unlike stars, they look fuzzy and blurry. This is how distant galaxies look from Earth. Located inside the Ursa are called Whirlpool and Pinwheel.
Big Bucket Rotation
The fact that our Earth does not stand still is known to any student. Due to her movement, it seems that the stars in the sky are spinning. The Bucket is no exception in this regard. In winter and autumn, Ursa Major is located in the northern part of the night sky, not too high from the horizon. In spring and summer, this most noticeable constellation can be seen almost at its zenith. Moreover, at this time of year Ursa Major looks upside down.
Sky compass
So, the number of bright stars in the Big Dipper bucket is exactly seven. Two of them can serve as a guide for those on the road. The fact is that it is easy to find the most famous star in the world - the Polar one. Make it easy. It is only necessary to draw an imaginary line along the two outer stars of the bucket. Next, it should measure approximately the distance between them. The Pole Star itself is located almost above the northernmost pole.
In the old days, when there were no navigational instruments yet, it was she who served as a guide for all sailors and travelers. So, if you suddenly find yourself in a difficult situation in an unfamiliar area - look at the constellation Ursa Major. The North Star found along it will show you the way to the north. This small and not too bright celestial object has already helped more than once to get lost in the taiga, in the desert or at sea. The North Star leads the closest neighbor of Ursa Major - Ursa Minor. The location of both of these "animals" is considered to be near-polar according to the classification of astronomers.
How many stars in Ursa Major
Of course, in this constellation of stars there are much more stars than in the most noticeable part of it - the Bucket. At the moment, there are about 125 of them. These are over a hundred bright objects, against which the Sun would look like a small and dim luminous dot. The closest star to Earth, unfortunately, is not even visible to the naked eye. She also has no name. According to astronomical classification, it passes as a star 7.5 m. The light from it to the Earth goes about 8.25 years. This is almost twice as much as from the closest star to us - Alpha Centauri. Thus, the answer to the question of how many stars in Ursa Major is simple - more than a hundred and not all of them are visible without a telescope or binoculars. To make out a wild beast with a long tail in the Bucket, you really need to have a fairly rich imagination.
The Legend of Ursa Major
Of course, about such prominent objects of the night sky, as the stars of the constellation Ursa Major, simply can not exist many different kinds of myths and traditions. The most famous legend about it was invented by the Greeks. Chroniclers of this ancient country say that once the king of Arcadia had an unusually beautiful daughter Callisto. And this girl was so proud of her attractiveness that she dared to compete with the Hero herself, the wife of Zeus. The enraged goddess, using her mystical power, of course, took revenge on the proud woman, turning her into a bear. The son of Callisto Arcas, who was returning from the hunt at that time, when he saw a wild beast at the door of the palace, decided to kill him. However, at the last moment he was stopped by Zeus, who was indifferent to the beauty. After the rescue, Callisto was raised to heaven. The stars of the Big Dipper bucket - this is it. At the same time, the supreme god raised the beloved dog of the beauty to heaven. Now she is known as Ursa Minor.
The nearest constellations
The stars in the constellation Ursa Major, or rather in its Bucket, are the most noticeable in the night sky. However, in addition to Ursa Minor, there are several more famous constellations in this area. The reference point for finding one of them can be the same North Star. Behind it, from the opposite side from the Ursa Major, at about the same distance, flaunts the familiar Cassiopeia by many. Outwardly, this constellation is similar to the Russian letter "M". At some positions of the Earth, Cassiopeia "flips" and takes the form of a Latin W.
Between her and Ursa Minor you can see not so noticeable, but also the notorious constellation Cepheus. It does not have a clearly visible form. Between Ursa Major and Ursa Minor it’s easy to see also the meandering Dragon. The chain of its stars is easily connected on the map with a broken line.
Well, hopefully, we answered the main question of the article about how many luminous permanent objects there are in Ursa Major. There are only seven of them in the Bucket. The main constellation includes about 125 distant "suns".