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Ursa Major: Difference between revisions
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[[File:375px-Ursa Major IAU.svg.png|thumb|Ursa Major]] | |||
Ursa Major (Latin: "Larger She-Bear"; also known as the Great Bear) is a constellation visible throughout the year in most of the northern hemisphere. It can be seen best in the month of April. It is dominated by the widely recognized asterism known as the Big Dipper or the Plough, which is a useful pointer towards the north, and it has mythological significance in numerous world cultures. | Ursa Major (Latin: "Larger She-Bear"; also known as the Great Bear) is a constellation visible throughout the year in most of the northern hemisphere. It can be seen best in the month of April. It is dominated by the widely recognized asterism known as the Big Dipper or the Plough, which is a useful pointer towards the north, and it has mythological significance in numerous world cultures. | ||
Ursa Major has been reconstructed as an Indo-European constellation. | Ursa Major has been reconstructed as an Indo-European constellation.It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century AD astronomer Ptolemy. It is mentioned by such poets as Homer, Spenser, Shakespeare and Tennyson. The Finnish epic Kalevala mentions it, Vincent van Gogh painted it, and Federico Garcia Lorca mentions in his poem "Song for the Moon" written August 1920. | ||