The stars that make up the constellation Ursa Major were described as a "great bear" by ancient Greek astronomer Claudius Ptolemy in his classic studies of the night sky, and Greek myths tell the ...

Most people have never seen the Little Dipper, because most of its stars are too dim to be seen through light-polluted skies.

The seven brightest stars in the constellation Ursa Major comprise one of the brightest and most recognized star patterns in the night sky: the Big Dipper or Plough. The five stars between (but ...

Even though humans have been looking at the night sky for millenia, not everyone sees the same sky. Not even the constellations are same for everyone.

Ursa Major . Possibly one of the best-known constellations in the northern sky, Ursa Major—or the Great Bear—contains an asterism of seven stars known as the Big Dipper (or, in other countries ...

5 famous constellations that (almost) anyone can find. From Andromeda to Ursa Major, these cosmic landmarks dominate the sky. Learning how to spot them will turn you into a star gazer.

The seven brightest stars of the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear, form this well-known asterism which is known as the Big Dipper. Photograph by Jamie Cooper.

Microscopium, a southern constellation representing (guess; go on, guess)—a microscope, has stars so faint that they’re invisible even in mild light pollution.

Over half of the 88 official constellation names are attributed to the ancient Greeks.. The International Astronomical Union governs the naming of these star-formed “patterns.” The first known ...