Ursa Minor: Difference between revisions

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.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursa_Minor Ursa Minor]</ref>

==HGS Session References==