Ursa Major
Ursa Major, the Great Bear, is the third-largest constellation by area and home to the Big Dipper asterism, one of the most widely recognized star patterns. Its seven brightest stars form a dipper or plough shape that has served as a navigation aid throughout human history. Five of its stars share a common motion through space, forming the Ursa Major Moving Group.
The Ursa Major family is the largest constellation family, containing constellations that share their region of sky with the Great Bear. Defined by astronomer Donald Menzel in 1964, this grouping includes many of the most recognizable patterns in the northern sky. The family's namesake, Ursa Major, is the third-largest constellation by area and home to the famous Big Dipper asterism, one of the most universally recognized star patterns in human history.
Mythology & History
In Greek mythology, Ursa Major represents Callisto, a nymph transformed into a bear by the jealous goddess Hera. Her son Arcas, placed nearby as Ursa Minor, was set in the sky by Zeus to prevent him from unknowingly hunting his mother. Nearly every ancient culture had stories for this prominent circumpolar group — the Chinese saw it as the celestial bureaucracy, the Norse as a wagon (Odin's Wain), and many Native American traditions identified the bowl of the Big Dipper as a bear with the handle stars as hunters pursuing it through the seasons.
Observation Tips
Ursa Major family constellations are best observed from northern latitudes where many are circumpolar (never setting below the horizon). The Big Dipper's pointer stars (Dubhe and Merak) famously guide observers to Polaris in Ursa Minor. These constellations contain numerous deep sky targets including the Pinwheel Galaxy (M101), the Owl Nebula (M97), and the striking pair of galaxies M81 and M82 in Ursa Major itself.