Since ancient times, people have been watching the night sky. There is something invariably attractive in the process of contemplating a clear month and distant stars. From all this, the soul is done well and peacefully.
An inquisitive observer will sooner or later begin to find patterns in the firmament - bizarre clusters of stars that form a variety of shapes. The constellation Ursa Major will not leave his attention . We will consider it in detail in our article.
Ursa Major in the view of ancient people
Ursa Major is one of the oldest constellations of the night sky. Almost all peoples in the culture have references to this amazing cluster of stars.
The Indians were the first to pay attention to him, giving the beautiful name “Sapta Rishi”, which in Sanskrit means “seven wise men”. In Chinese astronomy, the constellation is called the “Northern Bucket”. Resourceful Chinese began to use it for counting time.
The most interesting explanation for the beautiful cluster of stars in the sky was found by the Greeks. Of course, the Ursa Major is a myth. It says that the imperious Zeus fell in love with the beautiful nymph Callisto. The sovereign goddess Hera, wife of Zeus, did not like it. In order to save the beautiful girl from the revenge of his imperious wife, the God of thunder converted her to the Bear and sent her to live in heaven. Now the beautiful Callisto pleases all lovers of the starry sky with its soft flickering radiance.
Glowing bucket in the night sky
Now consider the Big Dipper bucket. In autumn, it is the most beautiful. From a scientific point of view, the constellation is the third largest after Hydra and Virgo. Its size is 1280 square degrees. Ursa Major (bucket, photo of which is presented below) has a visible part of seven bright stars. We list them:
- Dubhe - The Bear;
- Merac - Loin;
- Fekda - Thigh;
- Megrets - The beginning of the tail;
- Aliot - Kurdyuk;
- Mizar - loincloth;
- Benetnash is the leader of weepers.
All names are Arabic and mean 7 bright stars forming the legendary Bucket.
Location in the sky
The starry sky is unthinkable without the constellation Ursa Major. In the fall, the bucket is located in the northern part of the sky. It can be observed between 3-4 a.m. over the northeast horizon. A good reference will be his pen, indicating the place of sunrise.
Ursa Major - the path to knowledge of astronomy
Beginners need to learn how to find the Big Dipper bucket in the fall (photo of the constellation - below). This cluster of stars is one of the most visible in the night sky. Such an exercise will be a good preparation of young astronomy lovers for a more detailed study of the starry sky, namely:
- to finding less visible constellations in the sky. Advanced astronomers use the Ursa Major as a guide to search for other stars;
- to an interesting observation of the sky throughout the year. You can see how already familiar stars change their location, where a month rises, etc .;
- to carrying out the first calculations. Over time, a person remembers the distance between the corner stars of the bucket;
- to the first skills of working with a manual telescope. If there is one, a young observer of the sky will find stars invisible to the ordinary eye. This refers to binary and variable stars, it is likely to even notice the exploding galaxy M82.
Ursa Major: bucket in autumn
The location of the constellations largely depends on the time of year. Ursa Major (bucket) in the fall is no exception to the rule.
Autumn sky is not rich in stars. Even the traditionally bright constellation Ursa Major glows dimly. The Big Dipper bucket is located in the north under the North Star in the fall; her tail is directed west. At the zenith is Cassiopeia.
But in the east, the Pleiades constellation rises high, under it the bright star Aldebaran, which is located in the constellation Taurus, clearly shines. At this time, two bright stars rise in the northeast: an experienced specialist in the starry sky immediately recognizes Gemini in them.
The constellations of Leo and Virgo are hiding behind the Earth, they are not visible at all. To the west of Ursa Major you can see the faint constellation of the Eagle.
So, to summarize, what constellations can be seen in the autumn night sky in its northern part:
- Ursa Major;
- Ursa Minor;
- Gemini
- Taurus;
- Lira and the Swans.
Starry sky geometry
Having found the Big Dipper bucket in the fall, you can get carried away and devote an hour or two to the search for other familiar stars. The most important thing is a sincere desire, and, of course, a map of the night sky will not hurt.
Let us turn our eyes to the southern part of the sky. It is there that Andromeda and Pegasus rise every fall. In the upper left corner of the sky are two stars of the first constellation, followed by three stars of the second.
Andromeda consists of four stars located at a great distance from each other. The constellation itself is located under Cassiopeia. Andromeda remotely resembles the shape of a bow. The last one is directed towards the Pleiades and Taurus. It even feels like an arrow will fly out of a bow and fly to the left, towards the indicated constellations. But this, of course, is not so. This is just a game of imagination, which has nothing to do with the majestic starry sky.
Under Andromeda, you can see two small stars - this is Aries. And under it scattered a lot of luminous points - this is the constellation of Whale. You can see Aries and Kit only during clear weather.
In Pegasus, in addition to the three bright stars, it is worth remembering two more: they are located to the right. The Pegasus figure itself looks like horns. It seems that they want to pry Swan.
Picture: Ursa Major bucket in autumn
Nothing is more conducive to creativity than observing a clear sky. Therefore, it is highly likely that you will be "struck" by some kind of creative activity after contemplating the night luminaries. Someone would like to write a fascinating story about their nightly experience, someone would like to dance to their favorite music, and someone would like to sketch a luminous bucket.
We will talk about the last type of creative activity - about the sketch of the Bear.
It’s easy to draw a bucket, because it’s just a geometric figure, consisting of an inverted trapezoid and a broken straight line. But with the background, location and color of the picture, you can experiment to your taste. Here everyone will have their own vision of the color and arrangement of a bizarre figure on a piece of paper.
Try to put some of your feelings into the drawing, and then it will turn out really interesting. As you can see, it’s not difficult to draw the Big Dipper bucket in the fall.
Ursa Major in culture
- the constellation is asterism. This term refers to a funeral procession, followed by 2 Bennett stars (2 mourners);
- the oldest name for Ursa Major is Arctos. Belongs to the prehistoric era of nomadic hunters. This once again confirms that people of all ages loved the starry sky;
- Ursa Major (Bucket in Autumn) is depicted on the flag of Alaska;
- connected with anime. A character from the popular Kenshiro manga wears a scar on his chest in the shape of a Bucket. Today, the Russian audience can enjoy the space three-part short story "Fist of the North Star: New Era";
- in the Museum of Modern Art there is a painting "Ursa Major". It is so named because the cigarettes of smokers are arranged in a sequence that forms the shape of the same Bucket.