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 ==Babylonian Astronomy==
-In the Babylonian star catalogues, Ursa Minor was known as MAR.GID.DA.AN.NA, the Wagon of Heaven, Damkianna. It appeared on a pair of tablets containing canonical star lists that were compiled around 1000 BC, the MUL.APIN, and was one of the "Stars of Enlil"—that is, the northern sky.[4] The possible origin of its name was its appearing to circle around the north celestial pole.The first mention of Ursa Minor in Greek texts was by Thales of Miletus in approximately 600 BCE.Homer had previously only referred to one "bear",[6] leading to speculation over what he saw the stars of Ursa Minor as, or whether they were recognised at all.Ursa Minor and Ursa Major were related by the Greeks to the myth of Callisto and her son Arcas, both placed in the sky by Zeus.[5] However, in a variant of the story, in which it is Boötes that represents Arcas, Ursa Minor represents a dog. This is the older tradition, which explains both the length of the tail and the obsolete alternate name of Cynosura (the dog's tail) for Polaris, the North Star.[7] Cynosura is also described as a nurse of Zeus, honoured by the god with a place in the sky.[5] An alternate myth tells of two bears that saved Zeus from his murderous father Cronus by hiding him on Mt Ida. Later Zeus set them in the sky, but their tails grew long from being swung by the god.In Hungarian mythology the constellation is called 'Little Goncol cart' (Göncöl szekér) after a legendary shaman. (Ursa Major is 'Big Goncol cart.') The shaman's knowledge knew no limit. He invented the cart: His nation was wandering, so the cart was the biggest gift of the Gods to the country. Legends claim he knew everything about the world. Nobody saw his death; his body simply disappeared among the stars.In Inuit astronomy, the three brightest stars—Polaris, Kochab and Pherkad—were known as Nuutuittut "never moving", though the term is more frequently used in the singular to refer to Polaris alone. The pole star was too high in the sky at far northern latitudes to be of use in navigation.[9]Because Ursa Minor consists of seven stars, the Latin word for "North" (i.e. where Polaris points) is septentrio, from septem (seven) and triones (oxen), from seven oxen driving a plow, which the seven stars also resemble. This name has also been attached to the main stars of Ursa Major.
+In the Babylonian star catalogues, Ursa Minor was known as MAR.GID.DA.AN.NA, the Wagon of Heaven, Damkianna. It appeared on a pair of tablets containing canonical star lists that were compiled around 1000 BC, the MUL.APIN, and was one of the "Stars of Enlil"—that is, the northern sky.The possible origin of its name was its appearing to circle around the north celestial pole.The first mention of Ursa Minor in Greek texts was by Thales of Miletus in approximately 600 BCE.Homer had previously only referred to one "bear", leading to speculation over what he saw the stars of Ursa Minor as, or whether they were recognised at all.
+Ursa Minor and Ursa Major were related by the Greeks to the myth of Callisto and her son Arcas, both placed in the sky by Zeus. However, in a variant of the story, in which it is [[Boötes]] that represents Arcas, Ursa Minor represents a dog. This is the older tradition, which explains both the length of the tail and the obsolete alternate name of Cynosura (the dog's tail) for Polaris, the North Star.
+Cynosura is also described as a nurse of Zeus, honoured by the god with a place in the sky. An alternate myth tells of two bears that saved Zeus from his murderous father Cronus by hiding him on Mt Ida. Later Zeus set them in the sky, but their tails grew long from being swung by the god.In Hungarian mythology the constellation is called 'Little Goncol cart' (Göncöl szekér) after a legendary shaman. (Ursa Major is 'Big Goncol cart.') The shaman's knowledge knew no limit. He invented the cart: His nation was wandering, so the cart was the biggest gift of the Gods to the country. Legends claim he knew everything about the world. Nobody saw his death; his body simply disappeared among the stars.In Inuit astronomy, the three brightest stars—Polaris, Kochab and Pherkad—were known as Nuutuittut "never moving", though the term is more frequently used in the singular to refer to Polaris alone. The pole star was too high in the sky at far northern latitudes to be of use in navigation.Because Ursa Minor consists of seven stars, the Latin word for "North" (i.e. where Polaris points) is septentrio, from septem (seven) and triones (oxen), from seven oxen driving a plow, which the seven stars also resemble. This name has also been attached to the main stars of Ursa Major.
 ==HGS Session References==