how many stars are in Ursa Major? and got the best answer

Answer from Daniel Friedman[guru]

Ursa Major consists of SEVEN stars. .
All the stars of the Bucket have their own Arabic names: Dubhe (α Ursa Major) means “bear”; Merak (β) - “lower back”; Fekda (γ) - “thigh”; Megrets (δ) - “beginning of the tail”; Aliot (ε) - the meaning is not clear; Mizar (ζ) - “sash” or “loincloth”. The last star in the handle of the Bucket is called Benetnash or Alkaid (η); in Arabic, “al-Qaeed banat our” means “leader of the mourners.”
Ursa Major (lat. Ursa Major) is a constellation of the northern hemisphere of the sky. The seven stars of Ursa Major form a shape resembling a ladle with a handle. The two brightest stars, Alioth and Dubhe, have a magnitude of 1.8 apparent magnitude. By the two extreme stars of this figure (α and β) you can find the North Star. The best visibility conditions are in March-April. Visible throughout Russia.
Ursa Major is the third largest constellation of constellations, whose seven bright stars form the famous Big Dipper; this asterism has been known since ancient times among many peoples under different names: Plow, Elk, Cart, Seven Sages, etc.
Another version of the interpretation of asterism is reflected in the alternative name Hearse and Mourners. Here the asterism is thought of as a funeral procession: in front are mourners, headed by a leader, followed by a funeral bier. This explains the name of the star η Ursa Major, “leader of the mourners.”
It is curious that the 5 inner stars of the Bucket (except for the outer ones α and η) really form a single group in space - the moving Ursa Major cluster, which moves quite quickly across the sky; Dubhe and Benetnash move in the opposite direction, so the shape of the Bucket changes significantly in about 100,000 years.
The stars Merak and Dubhe, forming the wall of the Bucket, are called Pointers, since the straight line drawn through them rests on the North Star (in the constellation Ursa Minor). All stars of the Bucket have a magnitude of 2-3 magnitudes.
Next to Mizar, which was the second among double stars discovered in a telescope (G. Riccioli in 1650), a keen eye sees the 4th magnitude star Alcor (80 Ursa Major), which in Arabic means “forgotten”, or “insignificant”. It is believed that the ability to distinguish the Alcor star has been a recognized test of vigilance since ancient times. The pair of stars Mizar and Alcor is often interpreted as the Horse and Rider asterism.

Answer from 2 answers[guru]

Hello! Here is a selection of topics with answers to your question: how many stars are there in Ursa Major?

Ursa Major (lat. Ursa Major) is a constellation in the northern hemisphere of the sky. The seven stars of Ursa Major form a shape resembling a ladle with a handle. The two brightest stars, Alioth and Dubhe, have a magnitude of 1.8 apparent magnitude. By the two extreme stars of this figure (α and β) you can find the North Star. The best visibility conditions are in March - April. Visible throughout Russia all year round (with the exception of the autumn months in southern Russia, when Ursa Major descends low to the horizon).

Short description

Detailed description

The constellation Ursa Major is located in the northern hemisphere of the starry sky. People have known it for many thousands of years. He was known to astronomers in Egypt, Babylon, China and Ancient Greece. It was included by Claudius Ptolemy in his monograph “Almagest” back in the 2nd century. And this work united all the knowledge on astronomy for that period of time.

The Big Dipper is formed by the following seven stars:

1. Dubhe (Alpha Ursa Major), the name comes from the Arabic expression - “back of the big bear.”
2. Merak (β) – from Arabic “loin” or “groin”.
3. Fekda (γ) – “thigh”.
4. Megrets (δ) – “base of the tail.” It is the faintest star among the stars of the Big Dipper.
5. Aliot (ε) – “fat tail”. The brightest star in this constellation.
6. Mizar (ζ) – from Arabic – “belt”. Near Mizar there is another star - Alcor. It is noteworthy that the ability to distinguish between these two stars is a consequence of good vision (with myopia of no more than 1 diopter).
7. Benetnash (η) or otherwise – Alkaid. The third brightest star in Ursa Major. “Al-Qaeda banat ours” is translated from Arabic as “leader of the mourners.”

As you can see, this formation includes 7 stars. If you connect them with a straight line, you get a figure that resembles a ladle with a handle. Each star has its own name. At the top point of the bucket, opposite the handle, there is a star, which is called Dubhe. It is the second brightest among its cosmic counterparts. This is a multiple star. That is, several stars from Earth are seen as one due to their close distance to each other.

In this case we are dealing with 3 stars. The largest of them is a red giant. That is, the core has already lost all its hydrogen reserves, and a thermonuclear reaction is taking place on the surface of the star. It dies, and over time it should turn into a white dwarf or become a black hole. The other two stars are Main Sequence stars, that is, the same as our Sun.

On the same straight line with Dubhe, at the base of the bucket, there is a star Merak. This is a very bright light. It is 69 times brighter than our Sun, but due to the vastness of outer space it does not make the proper impression. If the straight line between Merak and Dubhe is extended towards the constellation Ursa Minor, then you can run into the North Star. It is located at a distance that is 5 times the distance between the indicated luminaries.

The other lowest point of the bucket is called Fekda. This is a Main Sequence star. The top point of the bucket located opposite it is called Megrets. She is the dimmest in the friendly company. This star is almost 1.5 times larger than our star and 14 times brighter.

There is a star at the beginning of the handle Alioth. It is the brightest in the constellation Ursa Major. Among all the visible stars in the sky, it ranks 33rd in brightness. From the end of the handle it is the third in a row, and the second is a star Mizar. Next to it there is another luminary, which is called Alcor. Anyone with good eyesight can see it. They say that in ancient times, Alcor was used to test the visual acuity of young men who aspired to become sailors. If a young man could see this star next to Mizar, then he was enrolled as a sailor.

In reality, not 2 stars shine in the cosmic distance, but as many as 6. These are the double stars Mizar A and Mizar B, as well as the double star Alcor. But from Earth, with the naked eye, only a large bright point and a small one that is nearby are visible. These are the kind of surprises that space sometimes brings.

And finally, the outermost star. It is called Benetnash or Alkaid. All these names are taken from Arabic. In this case, the literal translation means “leader of the mourners.” That is, the alkaid is the leader, and our banat is the mourners. This star is the third brightest after Aliot and Dubhe. It ranks 35th among the brightest stars in the sky.

The brightest stars of Ursa Major

Other objects of Ursa Major

In addition to the Big Dipper, in the constellation Ursa Major you can also see an asterism called the Three Leaps of the Gazelle, which looks like three pairs of stars.

We are talking about the following pairs:

1. Alula North South (ν and ξ),
2. Taniya North and South (λ and μ),
3. Talitha North and South (ι and κ).

Near Alupa North there is a red dwarf called Lalande 21185, which is elusive to observation with the naked eye. However, it is the sixth closest star system to the Sun. Closer to the stars Sirius A and B.

Observational astronomers are well aware that this constellation contains the galaxy M101 (called Pinwheel), as well as the galaxies M81 and M82. The last two form the core of what is probably the closest group of galaxies, located at a distance of about 7 million light years. In contrast to these distant objects, the astronomical body M 97 (“Owl”) is located within the Milky Way, hundreds of times closer. The Owl is one of the largest planetary nebulae.

In the middle, between the first and second “gazelle jump”, using optics you can see a small yellow dwarf similar to our Sun number 47. From 2000 to 2010, scientists discovered three exoplanets, gas giants, orbiting around it. This star system is also one of the most similar to the Solar System and ranks 72nd on the list of candidates for the search for Earth-like planets carried out as part of the planned NASA Terrestrial Planet Finder mission. So for an astronomy lover, the constellation is of great interest.

In 2013 and 2016, two of the most distant galaxies from us were discovered in the constellation, z8 GND 5296 and GN-z11, respectively. The light from these galaxies, recorded by scientists, lasted 13.02 (z8 GND 5296) and 13.4 (GN-z11) billion years.

This is how we can characterize the constellation Ursa Major, known since ancient times. This cosmic region also includes many galaxies. For example, the Pinwheel galaxy. It is better known as M 101. It is larger in size than the Milky Way. Its detailed photographs were taken by the Hubble telescope at the beginning of the 21st century. To get to this huge cluster of stars, you need to spend 8 million light years.

The Owl Nebula is also of interest. It enters our galaxy and looks like two dark spots located nearby. In 1848, Lord Ross believed that these spots were similar to the eyes of an owl. This is where the name came from. This nebula is approximately 6 thousand years old, and it is located at a distance of 2300 light years from the Solar system.

But the most interesting thing is that the constellation Ursa Major is considered as one of the likely sources of extraterrestrial intelligence. In this part of space there is a certain star called 47UMa. It is a yellow dwarf and its planetary system is very similar to our solar system. At least, today there are 3 known planets orbiting this star. In 2003, a radio message was sent to him. Earthlings persistently search for brothers in mind, and luck always accompanies those who persist.

How to find the Big Dipper in the sky?

If you want to learn how to navigate the starry sky, then your primary task is to be able to find the Big Dipper bucket. Although it is not far from the North Star, it is still not so close to it as to be at one point in the sky all the time.

The Big Dipper is easiest to spot in the fall and winter. At this time, in the evenings, the asterism is located in the north, low above the horizon and in our usual position.

Towards the end of winter, the position of Ursa Major in the evening sky changes. The seven stars of the bucket shift to the east, and the Big Dipper itself stands vertically on the handle.

There is nothing surprising. Let us remember that every day all the stars describe circles around the celestial pole, thereby reflecting the rotation of the Earth around its axis. But over the course of a year, the stars make one more additional circle, thereby reflecting the movement of the Earth in its orbit around the Sun. The stars of Ursa Major are no exception - moving from the lowest point, the bucket seems to rear up.

In mid-spring, Ursa Major is at its zenith in the evenings, right above your head! At this time, it is in an inverted position in relation to the North Star. Its ladle faces west, and its handle faces east.

For those who live north of Moscow, the most difficult time to find the Big Dipper in the sky is in the summer, during the period of short nights. At this time, the constellation is in the west, and the bucket is tilted down and looking north.

How to find the North Star using Ursa Major?

Now let's see how to find the North Star using Ursa Major. This is done simply. Take the two outermost stars in the bucket, Dubha and Merak (alpha and beta Ursa Major), and mentally connect them with a line. And then extend this line five times the distance Merak - Dubhe.

You will see a star whose brilliance is approximately equal to the brilliance of the stars of the bucket. This is the famous Polar Star, the “iron nail,” as the Kazakhs called it, meaning the immobility of the Polar Star in the earth’s firmament.

Knowing the position of the North Star, you can easily navigate in space. Draw a plumb line from Polyarnaya down. The place where it intersects with the horizon will point north. The rest of the cardinal directions are easy to find: east will be on the right, south behind you, and west on the left. So, guided by the stars, in Russia in the Middle Ages they built the Moscow-Yaroslavl and Moscow-Vladimir roads, straight as an arrow.

Secrets of the constellation Ursa Major: how different peoples saw it

Egypt "Bull's Thigh"

The ancient Egyptians were among the first astronomers in history, with some of their round stone "observatories" dating back as far as the fifth millennium BC. It was the Egyptians who laid the foundations of the constellation system that was borrowed from them by the inhabitants of Mesopotamia, the Greeks, the Arabs, and then by modern science. At that dizzyingly distant time, due to the precession of the earth's axis, it was not the North Star that pointed north, but Alpha Draconis (Thuban). Its surroundings, together with the nearest luminaries, were considered by the Egyptians to be the “fixed sky,” the habitat of the gods. Instead of a ladle, the priests could see the leg of Set, the god of war and death, who turned into a bull and killed Osiris with a blow of his hoof. Falcon-headed Horus cut off his limb in revenge for the murder of his father.

China "Emperor Shangdi's Cart"

The astronomers of Ancient China divided the sky into 28 vertical sectors, “houses,” through which the Moon passes on its monthly journey, just as the Sun passes through the signs of the Zodiac in its annual rotation in Western astrology, which borrowed the 12-sector division from the Egyptians. In the center of the heavens, like an emperor in the capital of a state, the Chinese placed the North Star, which by that time had already taken its usual place. The seven brightest stars of the Big Dipper are located in honorable proximity to it, within the Purple Fence - one of the three Fences surrounding the palace of the “royal” star. They could be described as the Northern Dipper, whose orientation corresponds to the seasons, or as part of the carriage of the Shangdi Heavenly Emperor.

India "Seven Wise Men"

Observational astronomy in ancient India did not develop as brilliantly as, say, mathematics. Its ideas were greatly influenced by both Greece and China - for example, the 27-28 “stays” (nakshatras) through which the Moon passes in about a month are very reminiscent of the Chinese lunar “houses”. Hindus also attached great importance to the North Star, which, according to experts in the Vedas, is the abode of Vishnu himself. The Ladle asterism located underneath it was considered the Saptarishas - seven sages born from the mind of Brahma, the forefathers of the world of our era (Kali Yuga) and everyone living in it.

Greece "Bear"

Ursa Major is one of 48 constellations listed in Ptolemy's star catalog around 140 BC, although it was first mentioned much earlier, in Homer. The intricate Greek myths offer different backstories for its appearance, although everyone agrees that the bear is the beautiful Callisto, companion of the hunter goddess Artemis. According to one version, using his usual tricks with transformation, the loving Zeus seduced her, provoking the wrath of both his wife Hera and Artemis herself. Saving his mistress, the Thunderer turned her into a bear, who wandered in the mountain forests for many years until her own son, born of Zeus, met her while hunting. The Supreme God had to intervene once again. Preventing matricide, he ascended both to heaven.

America "Great Bear"

It seems that the Indians understood something about wild animals: in the Iroquois legend about the origin of the asterism, the “heavenly bear” does not have any tail. The three stars that form the handle of the ladle are three hunters pursuing the beast: Aliot draws a bow with an arrow embedded in it, Mizar carries a cauldron for cooking meat (Alcor), and Benetnash carries an armful of brushwood to light the fire. In the fall, when the Bucket turns and sinks low to the horizon, blood from a wounded bear drips down, painting the trees in variegated colors.

• The closest bright star in Ursa Major– star South Alula or xi Ursa Major. This is a beautiful double star that can be separated into its components in a telescope with a lens greater than 80mm. Both components are similar in their characteristics to the Sun and each of them also has a satellite - a cool red dwarf! The distance to ξ Ursa Major is 29 sv. years. A little further away is the star θ - 44 light years from the Sun. Well, the farthest of the bright stars in the constellation is the red giant μ Ursa Major, one of the stars in the front “paw” of the Ursa Major. The distance to it is 249 light years.
• The constellation Ursa Major is featured on the Alaska flag. The flag of White Sea Karelia, which was approved on June 21, 1918, depicts the Big Dipper. Also, the flag with the image of the Big Dipper is used by Irish left-wing radical organizations.
• You can admire the Big Dipper during the day. This can easily be done by finding it on one of the interactive constellation maps. On the maps you can find other large and small constellations and look at them at close range.
• Need I say that the huge constellation Ursa Major is a real treasure trove for a true astronomy lover?! This part of the sky contains a huge number of attractions that can be observed with small telescopes: double and variable stars, several bright galaxies and dozens of fainter galaxies, an open star cluster and even a planetary nebula. There is no way to fit descriptions of these objects into one article. Therefore, we decided to publish separate articles devoted to observations of the sights of the Big Dipper.

Video

Sources

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bear https://biguniverse.ru/posts/sozvezdie-bolshaya-medveditsa/ http://spacegid.com/sozvezdie-bolshoy-medveditsyi.html

The most noticeable and well-known constellation to everyone without exception is, of course, the Big Dipper. Or rather, what is clearly visible in the night sky is not itself, but part of it - the Big Dipper. If you look closely, you can see several more stars below and to the right of it, making up the paws and head of the Ursa. 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 Ursa Major bucket is known to everyone. There are exactly seven of them. These stars were named by Arab astronomers back in the Middle Ages. To our ears their “names” actually sound strange:

• Merak.
• Mizar.
• Fegda.
• Megrets.
• Dubge.
• Alioth.
• Benetnash.

From the earth, these stars appear equidistant. In fact, this is far from the case. The number of bright stars in the Big Dipper bucket is seven and all of them are not at equal distances from the Earth and the Sun.

Benetnash is located closest to our planet. Do - Alioth - sixty However, she looks brighter than Benetnash. This is the brightest and most brilliant object of the Bucket. In terms of the apparent intensity of the emitted light, all the stars in this part of the Big Dipper are close to second magnitude stars.

If you look very closely at one of the stars of the Bucket - Mizar, you can notice a faint flicker right next to it. This is explained very simply. Mizar is not an ordinary star, but a double one.

The object located right next to it is called Alcor. From Arabic these two words are translated as “Horse” and “Rider”. Alcor and Mizar are one of the most visible double stars from Earth.

The number of bright stars in the Ursa Major bucket is seven. However, if you look at it through binoculars or a telescope, you can see two more small smears of light. Unlike stars, they look fuzzy and blurry. This is what distant galaxies look like from Earth. Located inside the Ursa are called Whirlpool and Pinwheel.

Big Dipper Rotation

Any schoolchild knows that our Earth does not stand still. Due to its movement, the stars in the sky seem to rotate. Kovsh 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 the zenith. Moreover, at this time of year the Big Dipper looks upside down.

Celestial Compass

So, the number of bright stars in the Ursa Major bucket is exactly seven. Two of them can serve as reference points for those on the move. The fact is that using them it is easy to detect the most famous star in the world - Polaris. This is not difficult to do. You just need to draw an imaginary line along the two outer stars of the Ladle bowl. Next, you should measure approximately the distance between them. The North Star itself is located almost above the northernmost pole.

In ancient times, when no navigation instruments yet existed, it 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 polar star found from it will show you the way to the north. This small and not too bright celestial object has rescued those lost in the taiga, desert or sea more than once. The North Star leads Ursa Major's closest neighbor, Ursa Minor. The location of both of these “animals” is considered circumpolar according to the classification of astronomers.

How many stars are there in Ursa Major?

Of course, there is much more to this itself than to its most visible part, the Bucket. At the moment, about 125 of them are known. These are over a hundred bright objects, against the background of which the Sun would look like a small and dim luminous point. The closest star to Earth, unfortunately, is not even visible to the naked eye. It also doesn't have a name. According to astronomical classification, it passes as a 7.5 m star. Light from it travels approximately 8.25 years to Earth. 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 are in Ursa Major is simple - more than a hundred and not all of them are visible without a telescope or binoculars. To spot a wild beast with a long tail in the Bucket, you actually need to have a fairly rich imagination.

The Legend of Ursa Major

Of course, there simply cannot be many different kinds of myths and legends about such noticeable objects of the night sky as the stars of the constellation Ursa Major. The most famous legend about her was invented by the Greeks. The chroniclers of this ancient country say that once upon a time 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 Hera 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. Callisto's son Arkas, who was returning from a hunt at that time, saw a wild beast at the door of the palace and decided to kill it. However, at the last moment he was stopped by Zeus himself, who was not indifferent to the beauty. After being rescued, Callisto was raised to heaven. The stars of the Ursa Major bucket are what she is. At the same time, the supreme god raised the beauty’s beloved dog to heaven. Nowadays she is known under the name Ursa Minor.

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 other famous constellations in this area. The same Polar Star can become a reference point for finding one of them. Behind it, on the opposite side from the Big Dipper, at approximately the same distance, flaunts Cassiopeia, familiar to many by name. Outwardly it looks like the Russian letter “M”. At certain positions of the Earth, Cassiopeia “turns over” and takes the form of a Latin W.

Between it and the Little Dipper you can see a not so noticeable, but also well-known. It does not have a clearly visible form. Between Ursa Major and Ursa Minor it is easy to see the wriggling Dragon. The chain of its stars is easily connected on the map by a broken line.

Well, we hope we have 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 Kovsh. The main constellation includes about 125 distant “suns”.

How many stars are there in Ursa Major?

Ursa Major is a large server constellation. The seven main bright stars of the constellation form the well-known and famous bucket. The constellation Ursa Major contains 210 stars visible to the naked eye.

There are only 7 stars in the constellation Ursa Major.

They are arranged in a Bucket shape.



The constellation Ursa Major was once called Seven Sages

Seven Stars:

1. star Benetas
2. star Alioth
3. Dubhe star
4. Merak star
5. Fecda star
6. star Megrets
7. star Mizar

There is a legend that the North Pole - the Arctic was named after the Constellation Ursa Major.

The ancient Greeks called it Arkos, hence the word arctic - Arctic.

The constellation Ursa Major is a very important constellation. It is easily located in the sky and helps to find the North Star. Therefore, it is important for every person to know where he is and how many stars are in the constellation Ursa Major?. These are seven stars, namely: Benetash, Aliot, Dubhe, Merak, Fekda, Megrets, Mizar.

Dear chela, no one can accurately and unambiguously answer your question. And the point is not only that not a single stellar astronomer knows the exact answer, but also that the number of observed stars will depend, figuratively speaking, on the chosen reference system. If we observe in a large city, for example, such as Moscow, through its dusty and light-polluted atmosphere, then it is good if in this constellation we can see a dozen of the brightest stars. Observing the constellation somewhere on the western border of the Moscow region, an observer with keen eyesight will be able to see stars up to approximately the sixth magnitude (6m). And the total number of stars that he will be able to observe in the constellation Ursa Major will be about 120. If this observer observes the constellation, being at a point with an excellent astroclimate, for example, somewhere in Hawaii, near the Mauna Kea Observatory, at an altitude above 4000 meters, then he will be able to see stars up to 7m without instruments. In this case, the number of stars observable with the naked eye in the constellation Ursa Major will be approximately 240-250. But a record number of stars in the constellation Ursa Major can be seen in the Palomar Sky Atlas. It registers objects up to 21m. And these are not only the stars of our Galaxy, but also a huge number of other galaxies and their clusters. But different galaxies contain from tens of millions to hundreds of billions of stars. So it is almost impossible to count all the stars located within the boundaries of the Ursa Major constellation.

And, excuse me, I’ll correct you a little. Polar is the alpha of Ursa Minor.

One of the most beautiful and most recognizable constellations in the northern hemisphere of the sky is the constellation Ursa Major. On a clear night, the seven main stars stand out brightly, but in fact 125 can be seen with the naked eye. There are many double stars in the constellation. The most famous ones by which visual acuity is determined are Mizar and Alcor, which means Horse and Rider.



But the North Star is part of Ursa Minor.

Big Dipper- one of the most famous, most noticeable and largest constellations in the sky. It is especially well observed in the northern hemisphere, as it belongs to the circumpolar constellations (it can be observed all year round, especially part of the constellation - the Big Dipper).

There are a huge number of stars in the constellation Ursa Major.

If we talk about the Big Dipper (as part of the constellation), then most noticeable to the naked eye are 7 stars that make up the handle of the dipper and the dipper itself. It is noteworthy that the middle star of the bucket handle is a star Mizar is a double star (together with a less noticeable rider - the star Alcor. Therefore, it is worth talking about the 8 stars of the Big Dipper. Although there are actually many more stars in the constellation.

In Ursa Major seven stars. Their arrangement resembles a large ladle with a handle.

Moreover, each star in this constellation has its own name:



Three names can be seen in the picture:

• Benetash (translated from Arabic means leader of the mourners),
• Alioth (translation unknown),
• Dubhe (translated as bear).

The rest have the following names:

• Merak (?) translates as lower back,
• Fekda (?) translated as thigh,
• Megrets (?) means the beginning of the tail,
• Mizar (?) is translated as sash.

• I remember sitting in an astronomy lesson, the teacher told us about this or that constellation. There was a separate lesson about the Big Dipper. They told us where to look, where exactly to look. Separately, they forced me to write in a notebook the stars that are located in the Big Dipper.

  Benetash, Aliot, Dukhbe, Merak, Fekda, Megrets, Mizar.

  These are the school times =) It was interesting

  And it’s good that there were no tests in astronomy

  And so much knowledge... =)

  If we talk about the stars that make up the constellation Ursa Major, then there are exactly seven of them; you should not count double stars as two, since they still cannot be separated by the eye. As a last resort, you can consider the eighth star of the constellation to be the star Alcor, which is visible next to Mizar. in ancient times, this pair of stars was called horse and rider, and it was believed that a person who managed to see Alcor had excellent vision. If we count the stars that are and can be observed in the area occupied by the constellation Ursa Major, then there are really a lot of such stars. The constellation includes more than 200 stars that can be seen with a simple telescope. And it’s scary to even imagine how much you can see with the Herschel telescope. But still, I repeat, the constellation itself is formed by only 7 stars.

  

  A person with normal vision can see about a hundred stars. With the help of instruments you can see thousands of stars. The constellation also includes stars from galaxies that also contain many thousands of stars. How many stars do we simply not observe? And there are seven stars in the bucket, one of them is double.

19.10.2012

Ursa Major is one of the largest constellations known to modern astronomers. In the sky, it occupies an area of ​​​​approximately 1280 square degrees, it includes 125 stars of different sizes, visible to the naked eye, without the use of additional means of observing the sky. Only two constellations have an area larger than Ursa Major. These are the constellations Hydra (1300 sq. degrees) and Virgo (1290 sq. degrees).

The seven stars that make up the Big Dipper have names that were given to them in ancient times. This is what the names of these stars mean in Arabic: Dubhe - bear, Merak - ridge, Fegda - thigh, Megrets - root of the tail, Aliot means black horse, Mizar - sash or apron, Benetnash - leader of the mourners. The most distant of these stars is Benetnash. From her the light travels to us for 815 years, from Aliot - 408 years, from Fegda - 163 years, from Dubhe - 105 years, from Mizar - 88 years, from Merak - 78 years and from Megrets - 63 years. Five of the seven stars (except Dubhe and Benetnash) belong to the so-called stellar stream, because they move in the same direction, at approximately the same speed.

The stars Dubhe and Benetnash are also moving, but in exactly the opposite direction. There are many double, beautiful stars in Ursa Major. Among them, the most famous and accessible to observation with the naked eye are Mizar and Alcor. These stars are called rhetorically “horse” and “rider”. A person with keen vision can see the “rider” separately from the “horse”. Mizar is a star of the second magnitude, and Alcor is the fifth. The angular distance between them is about 12 minutes. arcs, which is quite solvable for the eye. In turn, Mizar consists of two giant, very hot stars that orbit around a common center of mass with an established period of about 20 thousand years. In addition, one of these stars is a spectrally binary star.

In the constellation Ursa Major, in the area that is located between the stars Merak and Fegda, but closer to the first star, there is an interesting object for observation through a telescope - the bright galactic planetary nebula M 97. For its appearance, the nebula received an interesting name - “Owl”. At the center of this vast, beautiful nebula of gas is a faint star that measures 14th magnitude. This star probably exploded and ejected its shell of gas, which continues to expand. The integral brightness of the nebula is 12th magnitude.

It occupies a spot in the sky with a diameter of 3.4 arc minutes. This is a lot, considering the enormous distance: its light travels to us for almost 7.5 thousand years. Ursa Major contains two significant galaxy clusters. One of them consists of 300 galaxies (although in the sky the diameter of the cluster is only 40 minutes of arc), it is 75 million light years away, and it is moving away from us at a speed of 11,800 kilometers per second. Another cluster consists of 400 galaxies and is moving away at a speed of 42 thousand kilometers per second. The cluster is 238 million light years away.