Constellation Report

This weekend we move on to the constellation Ursa Minor the Little Bear. This has an interesting mythical tale associated with it. Arcas (Ursa Minor) was Jupiter's son with Callisto (Ursa Major). Jupiter's wife Juno found out about the affair and turned Callisto into a Bear. Strange as it would seem her very son some years later was out hunting and was all set to shoot the bear Callisto when Jupiter rushed to her aid. He turned Arcas into a little bear and placed the two of them together in the heavens where they remain to this day.

Deep Sky Report

Ok... First things first. Ursa Minor is the northern most constellation. It has to be, for within it's boundaries lies the North Star, Polaris. 

The accompanying image of Polaris by aiming the camera at the star for 10 minutes during the Leonid Meteor Shower of 2001 (you can see a Leonid Meteor streaking across the top right of the picture). Note that while all the stars appear to be moving, Polaris is not. It sits so close to the celestial north pole that it appears virtually stationary, with all the other stars revolving around it.

Good Luck!

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