What does the little bear constellation look like? Task one

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The stars of Ursa Minor are quite faint, so they can be difficult to spot in the night sky unless it is completely dark. However, if you look at a perfectly dark sky, you can find Ursa Minor by finding Polaris, which is part of this constellation.

Steps

Part 1

Choose the right environment. Before you go looking for a constellation, make sure the night sky is conducive to it. This is especially important if you're looking for Ursa Minor, as some of its stars are quite dim.

• Travel outside the city limits. If you live in a large city or suburb, you're probably familiar with the term "light pollution." Because of large quantity street lamps, interior lighting, terrace lamps and other various forms of electric lighting that are turned on in the city at night, it can be difficult to see anything in the darkness of the night sky. As a result, it is also difficult to see the stars, especially when it comes to stars as dim as those of Ursa Minor. You'll need to drive away from city or suburban lights if you want to see skies dark enough to spot Ursa Minor.
• Move away from the obstacles. Low fences, bushes and small objects on the horizon will not block your view, which cannot be said about large trees, barns and similar structures. Increase your chances of seeing Ursa Minor by choosing a location with the fewest potential obstructions.
• Go out when the weather is good. Ideally, you should go looking for Ursa Minor when the sky is only slightly cloudy. Too much cloud cover will completely hide the stars. You can also go stargazing when the sky is completely clear, but under these conditions the moon may appear brighter, which will prevent you from seeing the fainter stars of Ursa Minor.

1. Find the North Star. Look north to find the North Star. If you want to find the constellation Ursa Minor, know. that Polaris is the brightest and easiest to find. However, you will need Ursa Major to do this.

2. Find Ferkad and Kohab. These are the two stars on the front edge of the Ursa Minor bowl. Apart from the North Star, these two are the only ones that are relatively easy to see with the naked eye.

   • Ferkad forms the “upper corner” of the Ursa Minor bowl, and Kohab forms the “lower corner” of the bowl.
   • These stars are also called the "Guardians of the Pole" because they revolve or march around the North Star. These are the closest bright stars to Polaris, and if you don't count Polaris itself, these two will be the closest bright stars to the pole or axis of the Earth.
   • The most bright Star is Kohab, which is a second magnitude star with an orange glow. Ferkad is a third magnitude star, and quite visible.

3. Connect the dots. Once you find the three bright stars of Ursa Minor, you can gradually explore the sky around them to find the other four stars that complete the picture.

   Part 2

   Seasonal changes and other factors to consider

   1. Spring and autumn. The position of Ursa Minor differs slightly depending on the time of year. During the spring and summer, Ursa Minor tends to be slightly higher in the night sky. In autumn and winter, it is usually a little lower and closer to the horizon.

      • The rotation of the Earth around the Sun also affects how you see the constellation. Since the Earth is tilted on its axis, the ratio of your geographical location it may be closer or further to the stars that form Ursa Minor. This angle changes, causing stars to appear either higher or lower in the night sky.

   2. Increase your chances by choosing the right time of year. While Ursa Minor can technically be found at any time of year under the right circumstances, the easiest time to see it is on a spring evening or winter morning.

      • At this time, the stars that form Ursa Minor should be quite high in the sky. The brightness of the stars themselves will not change, but you will have clearer visibility.

   3. Don't look for this constellation in the southern hemisphere. As noted earlier, the positions of Ursa Minor and Polaris will change depending on the latitude of the area in which you are located. If you go all the way south, below the equator in the southern hemisphere, the northern sky, including the North Star and the Ursa Major, will not be visible.

      • If you live in the northern hemisphere, the North Pole and both Ursa Major and Ursa Minor will be subpolar, meaning they can be found above the horizon. However, if you are in the southern hemisphere, these stars will lie below the horizon.
      • Keep in mind that at the North Pole, the North Star will be directly above you in the sky. If you are at the South Pole, Polaris will be directly below you, at a point far beyond your line of sight.

If you look deep into the centuries, then among many asterisks a rather important position occupies. All facts indicate that ancient navigation relied on it. Although the Phoenicians sometimes used the Big Dipper for orientation, despite its great brightness, it gave significant inaccuracies in determining the path.

How to find Ursa Minor from Ursa Major?

Obviously, most of you will find Ursa Major with ease. She is quite expressive and bright. Knowing that both constellations are nearby, it will undoubtedly become clear how to find Ursa Minor from Ursa Major. To do this, you will need to mentally connect the last two stars of the Big Dipper: from Merak (β Ursa Major) to Dubha (α Ursa Major)), continuing this line upward to a distance 5 times greater than the distance between them. This is how you will discover Alpha (the North Star) of the Ursa Minor constellation.

Before wondering how to find the constellation Ursa Minor, knowing only the location of Polaris, you need to understand what figure the luminaries form, and how the asterisk is located relative to the Big Dipper.

For a complete understanding: according to their names, they are quite similar and resemble a ladle in shape. As for the location, Ursa Minor is practically in an inverted position relative to the Big Dipper.

Knowledge is power

Study the star map before starting your search, this will make it easier for you to find the asterisk. Subsequently, you will be convinced of the ease of detection of the desired star group. And if someone asks you how to find Ursa Minor from Ursa Major, you full knowledge you can clearly explain how to find it.

Well, now we know how to find the constellation Ursa Minor. Let's talk about the North Star, thanks to which travelers and sailors of the past made a long and difficult journey. Although it is not in the night sky, it is located closest to the others. northern point world, the error does not exceed 1°. After only 145 years, the position error will exceed one degree.

Only after 3200 will the star closest to the northern point of the world become Alderamin (alpha Cephei).

"Twists" the bear by the tail on the earth's axis

The North Star does not change its position, despite the Earth's daily rotation around its own axis and annual movement in orbit around the Sun. The brightness of the guiding star is not constant and changes intensity every 4 days, within 2.02 ± 2%. Previously, the luminosity amplitude was higher, but today it has stabilized. The overall brightness of the North Star is constantly growing and has increased by almost 15% over the past hundred years.

The nature of the pulsation is related to the properties of the star; this is exactly how Cepheids behave. Guiding Star is one of the brightest Cepheids in the night sky.
Ursa Minor occupies an area of ​​about 255.9 square degrees in the sky. Its closest neighbors are the Dragon and Cepheus.

In the asterisk, as already mentioned, the North Pole of the World is located - where all objects revolve around it. The first mention in historical sources was made by the Greek astrologer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.

Ursa Minor and its stars

The Little Dipper constellation includes seven bright objects. Of all the luminaries of Ursa Minor, only the three brightest are clearly visible. These are Ferhad and Kohab, forming the wall of the Bucket, and crowning the handle of the constellation Polaris. The last two stars are located above the tail of Ursa Major.

The Little Dipper is somewhat different from other constellations. It does not change its location in the sky, like Ursa Major and most other asterisks, which are seasonal. They can be observed in certain seasons, and they are mobile in the sky throughout the year. Ursa Minor also changes its location, rotating around its Alpha.

"Alpha and Omega" constellation Ursa Minor in the northern hemisphere

Alpha (Pole Star) Ursa Minor is located at a distance from Earth of 431 with an apparent magnitude of 2.02. As it became known, this is not one, but three stars united in unified system. The brightest among them is almost 2 thousand times greater than the brightness of the Sun. The second luminary Ursa Minor has a mass equal to 1.39 solar.

It can be observed through a small telescope. The third Alpha star is 1.25 times more massive than our Sun and is located quite close to the first. With the help of the Hubble telescope, it became possible to view it as a separate star.

Kohab is an orange giant, translated from Arabic as “Star of the North”. The second brightest star, also known as beta, is in the constellation Little Dipper with 2.8 and is 126 light years away from Earth.

Ferhad is the gamma of Ursa Minor, with a magnitude of 3.6, the distance to it is 480 light years. This object is considered a hot giant with a temperature of 8600 K and belongs to the variable type of stars.

Delta Small Dipper, or Yildun, is a dwarf white, which is located 183 light years away.

Zeta is another dwarf, white in color and located 380 light years from Earth. The intensity of its glow is 200 times higher than that of the Sun. It is on the way to forming a giant star.

The North Star will not let you down

You may not be able to remember it all, but your knowledge has become more extensive. And if suddenly you get lost in the forest and there is no mobile connection, try to remember how to find Ursa Minor by Ursa Major. You will certainly find the North Star and find your bearings in which direction north is.

The sky is full of secrets and unknown mysteries

Even without a telescope, just looking at the night lights, you will see how diverse our large Universe is.

The constellation Ursa Minor is just a small visible part of it. The boundaries and dimensions of the Universe visible to us today have been determined. These are truly gigantic magnitudes, its extent is about 14 billion light years.

But is the Universe like this in reality? This thought excites the minds of great scientists. They build hypotheses, research, argue and try to understand whether this is true? Some experts express the opinion that the Universe is infinite, others - that the Multiverse exists.

And it may well turn out that one of them contains the same planet, country and copy of you. Everything is possible, science constantly pushes back the veil of the unknown and hidden from our sight, invariably proving: what seems fantastic today comes true tomorrow.

The constellation Ursa Minor is a circumpolar constellation in the Northern Hemisphere of the sky. Occupies an area of ​​255.9 square degrees in the sky and contains 25 visible stars naked eye. Ursa Minor currently houses the North Pole of the world, at an angular distance of 40′ from .
Ursa Minor is one of the most famous constellations. It is small in size and does not have particularly bright stars, but its location is remarkable. Ursa Minor is located near the north pole of the world, and due to this, it has played an important role in astronomy for many centuries. Ursa Minor is usually depicted as a small bear with a long tail. They say that the tail is so long because the bear clings to the Earth's pole with its end. The seven brightest stars in Ursa Minor form a scoop shape similar to the asterism in the constellation Ursa Major. At the end of the handle is the North Star. Finding a constellation in the sky is quite simple. Its neighbors are the Giraffe, the Dragon and the Cepheus. But the Ursa Major is usually the reference point for the search. By drawing a line with your gaze through the two outer luminaries of its bucket, and measuring up five distances between them, you can find the North Star, which serves as the beginning of the “handle” of another, smaller “scoop”. This will be Ursa Minor. It is less bright than the Big One, but is still clearly visible in the sky and is easily distinguishable from other constellations. In the Northern Hemisphere, this constellation is available for observation all year round.

The brightest stars of the constellation

• Polaris (αUMi). Magnitude 2.02 m
• Kohab (βUMi). Apparent magnitude 2.08 m. In the period from approximately 2000 BC. e. to 500 AD e. Kohab was the bright star closest to the North Pole and played the role of the polar star, which is reflected in its Arabic name Kohab el-Shemali (Star of the North)
• Ferkad (γ UMi). Magnitude 3.05 m
• Yildun (δ UMi). Apparent magnitude 4.36 m

The legend of the constellation Ursa Minor

Ursa Major and Ursa Minor are connected not only by their proximity in the sky, but also by myths and legends, which the ancient Greeks were great experts at composing.

The main role in stories with she-bears was usually given to Callisto, the daughter of Lycaon, king of Arcadia. According to one legend, her beauty was so extraordinary that she attracted the attention of the almighty Zeus. Taking the guise of the hunter-goddess Artemis, whose retinue included Callisto, Zeus penetrated the maiden, after which her son Arkad was born. Having learned about this, the jealous wife of Zeus Hera immediately turned Callisto into a bear. Time has passed. Arkad grew up and became a wonderful young man. One day, while hunting a wild animal, he came upon the trail of a bear. Suspecting nothing, he already intended to hit the animal with an arrow, but Zeus did not allow the murder: having also turned his son into a bear, he carried both of them to heaven. This act enraged Hera; Having met her brother Poseidon (god of the seas), the goddess begged him not to allow the couple into her kingdom. That is why Ursa Major and Ursa Minor in the middle and northern latitudes never go beyond the horizon.

Another legend is associated with the birth of Zeus. His father was the god Kronos, who, as you know, had the habit of devouring his own children. To protect the baby, the wife of Kronos, the goddess Rhea, hid Zeus in a cave, where he was nursed by two bears - Melissa and Helis, who were later ascended to heaven.

In general, for the ancient Greeks the bear was an exotic and rare animal. This may be why both she-bears in the sky have long, curved tails, which are not actually found on bears. Some, however, explain their occurrence by the unceremoniousness of Zeus, who pulled the bears into the sky by their tails. But tails can have a completely different origin: among the same Greeks, the constellation Ursa Minor had an alternative name - Kinosura (from the Greek Κυνόσουρις), which translates as “Dog’s Tail”.

The Big and Small Buckets were often popularly called “chariots” or Big and Small Carts (not only in Greece, but also in Rus'). And in fact, with proper imagination, you can see carts with harnesses in the buckets of these constellations.

Even people far from astronomy can find the Big Dipper in the sky. Due to its proximity to the north pole of the world, in the middle latitudes of our country, Ursa Major is a non-setting constellation, so it can be found in the sky at any time from sunset to dawn throughout the year. However, the position of the bucket relative to the horizon changes throughout the day, as well as throughout the year. For example, on short summer nights, the Big Dipper dipper slowly descends from west to northwest, with the handle of the dipper turned upward. And on dark August nights, the seven bright bucket stars can be found very low in the north. In autumn, the bucket begins to rise above the northeastern horizon closer to dawn, and its handle seems to point to the point of sunrise. On early December evenings, Ursa Major is visible low to the north, but a long distance winter night By morning it manages to rise high above the horizon and can be found almost overhead. At the end of the calendar winter, with the onset of darkness, the Big Dipper's bucket is visible in the northeast with its handle down, and by morning it moves to the northwest, with its handle up. It is quite logical that due to such great recognition and favorable visibility on any clear evening (or night), the Ursa Major bucket becomes the starting point for searching for other constellations, including Ursa Minor with, perhaps, the most famous star in the northern hemisphere - Polaris. Despite its fame, few people unfamiliar with the mysteries of the starry sky have seen this star with their own eyes. So, in terms of brilliance, it is similar to the stars of the Ursa Major bucket, but all the other stars of the “small dipper” of Ursa Minor, with the exception of one more - in the southern part of the constellation - are much fainter and may not be visible in the brightly lit city sky. Therefore, to get acquainted with starry sky It is better to choose an observation site outside of large cities, or in a forested area.

So, let's begin our acquaintance with the starry sky. Today we will get acquainted with the four constellations of the northern sky: Ursa Major, Ursa Minor (with the famous North Star), Draco and Cassiopeia. All these constellations, due to their proximity to the North Pole of the world on European territory former USSR are non-setting. Those. they can be found in the starry sky on any day and at any time. The first steps should begin with the Ursa Major bucket, known to everyone. Did you find it in the sky? If not, then to find it, remember that on summer evenings the bucket is located in the northwest, in autumn - in the north, in winter - in the northeast, in spring - directly overhead. Now pay attention to the two outermost stars of this bucket (see figure). If you mentally draw a straight line through these two stars, then the first star, the brightness of which is comparable to the brightness of the stars of the Ursa Major bucket, will be the North Star, which belongs to the constellation Ursa Minor. Using the map presented in the figure, try to find the remaining stars of this constellation. If you are observing in an urban environment, then it will be difficult to see the stars of the “small dipper” (that is how the constellation Ursa Minor is unofficially called): they are not as bright as the stars of the “big dipper”, i.e. Ursa Major. For this it is better to have binoculars on hand. When you see the constellation Ursa Minor, you can try to find the constellation Cassiopeia. I don’t know about you, but for me it was initially associated with another “bucket”. It’s more like a “coffee pot.” So, look at the second from the end star of the handle of the Big Dipper. This is the star next to which there is an asterisk barely visible to the naked eye. The bright star is named Mizar, and the one next to it is Alcor (here is the range of iconic Soviet telescopes for astronomy enthusiasts produced by the Novosibirsk Instrument-Making Plant (Refinery)). They say that if translated from Arabic, Mizar is a horse, and Alcor is a rider.
So, Mizar has been found. Now draw a mental line from Mizar through the North Star and further to approximately the same distance. And you will surely see quite bright constellation in the form of the Latin letter W (see figure). This is Cassiopeia. It still looks a bit like a “coffee pot,” doesn’t it?
After Cassiopeia, we try to find the constellation Draco. As can be seen from the picture at the top of the page, it seems to extend between the buckets of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, going further towards Cepheus, Lyra, Hercules and Cygnus. We will talk about these constellations a little later, and, having gained basic experience in orienting in the starry sky, try to find the entire Draco constellation using the mentioned picture.

Now you should be able to find the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, Cassiopeia, and Draco in the sky. By repeating observations of these constellations every clear evening, you will begin to distinguish them very quickly and without much difficulty from the rest of the starry sky, and the task of finding other constellations will no longer seem so difficult to you!

For those novice observers who intend to continue studying the treasures of the starry sky even after all the constellations have been assimilated, in the first stages of observing constellations, we recommend acquiring observation log, in which you need to enter the date and time of observations, as well as sketch the position of the constellations relative to the horizon. Also try to reproduce, as accurately as possible, the location of the bright stars of the constellations relative to each other on the celestial sphere, and also try to plot even the faintest stars on such homemade “star maps”. When you master the ABCs of the starry sky and pick up a telescope (or binoculars) to observe other objects in the starry sky, these sketching skills will be very useful to you. And just looking through an old observation log is always nice. After all, how many pleasant memories come to life in your memory!

Questions for the first task:
1. In what area of ​​the sky was the constellation Cassiopeia located during your observations?
2. In what area of ​​the sky was the Big Dipper's bucket located?
3. Were you able to see Alcor with the naked eye?
4. Keep an observation journal (for example, in the form of an ordinary general notebook), in which you note the position of the constellations familiar to you from the first task above the horizon in the evening, at night and in the morning. This way you can see with your own eyes daily rotation celestial sphere. Try to reproduce the appearance of the constellations in your journals as accurately as possible, and include even the faintest stars. Don't limit yourself to familiar constellations. Also draw those areas of the starry sky that are not yet familiar to you.

Probably the second most famous constellation in the Northern Hemisphere after - Ursa Minor.

The constellation located next to its “elder” neighbor is visible on the territory of Russia throughout the year and is circumpolar. It is there, at a distance of approximately 1 degree from the North Star, that the North Pole of the world is currently located.

It is known that the ancient Phoenicians used the constellation for navigation when sailing. It received its modern name thanks to the ancient Greeks. Ursa Minor was introduced into ancient astronomy by Philes of Miletus and is one of the 48 constellations included in the Almagest catalog of the starry sky by the ancient Greek astronomer of the second century, Claudius Ptolemy.

Ursa Minor. Constellation diagram.
(All pictures are clickable)

In ancient Greek myths, the Little Dipper is usually associated with the Big Dipper - according to one legend, the son of Callisto (the nymph turned by Zeus into the Big Dipper) Arkad was turned into it, according to another, the nymph Kinosura. By the way, with the peculiarities characteristic of ancient Greek myths, there are several versions of myths that describe the details of the appearance of the Little Dipper on the celestial sphere.

Finding a constellation in the sky is easy: just draw a mental line through the outermost stars of the bucket Ursa Major(Dubhe and Merak), measuring upward a distance approximately five times greater than the distance between these stars. The resulting line will pass near the North Star, clearly visible in the dark sky. From it it is easy to trace a small bucket that includes the main stars of the constellation.

Scheme of searching for Ursa Minor in the sky.

There are few interesting objects in Ursa Minor. First of all, this is the North Star - the closest star currently North Pole peace. The star's proximity to the North Pole is a temporary phenomenon. Due to the precession of the Earth's axis, the celestial pole (the imaginary point in the sky where the ecliptic axis intersects with celestial sphere) gradually, with a period of 25,776 years, shifts. The consequence is the constant change of stars near the North Pole of the world: now it is the North Star, 3000 years ago - Kohab (α Ursa Minor), in the Predynastic Ancient Egypt- Thuban (α Draconis), in a thousand years - Alrai (γ Cephei), and in 13000 Vega - one of the brightest stars in the Northern Hemisphere - will become polar.

The North Star is interesting in itself - it is a supergiant, which is the brightest and closest pulsating star to the Earth. variable star. Its distance is 431 light years and it is a triple system. In the center there is a supergiant (Polar A), at a decent distance from it - Polar B. Also in the system there is a dwarf component with an orbital period of 30 years, located very close to the supergiant - Polar Ab. Even with a small telescope, the Polar Star satellite is clearly visible. The opportunity for astronomers to discern the third component of the system appeared only with the advent of the Hubble telescope.

Multiple system of the Polaris (alpha Ursa Minor). The central supergiant Polar A, the second companion Polar B and the dwarf Polar Ab are visible (Photo by Hubble, Nasa)

From deep space objects in the constellation, one can observe the spiral galaxies NGC 6217, the dwarf galaxy Polarissima (UGC 9749), a satellite of the Milky Way, and the galaxy NGC 5832. However, these objects are extremely difficult to observe with weak telescopes due to their low surface brightness.

Also in the constellation Ursa Minor in 2002, an exoplanet (HD 150706 b) was discovered - a gas giant with a mass close to Jupiter, with an orbital period of 260 days.