COSMOS / CONSTELLATIONS / UMI
Ursa Minor (Little Bear)
The Little Bear. IAU abbreviation UMi. One of the 48 classical constellations listed by Ptolemy in the Almagest in the 2nd century AD.
STAR CHART
KEY FACTS
- IAU abbreviation
- UMi
- Latin name / genitive
- Ursa Minor / Ursae Minoris
- Position
- Right ascension ≈ 15 h 26 m; declination +66° to +89°
- Visibility from Türkiye
- From Ankara most of it never sets (circumpolar); visible all year.
- Best time to observe
- Visible all year; highest at 21:00 Türkiye time around 10 July.
- Number of stars
- 40 stars brighter than magnitude 6.5 in the catalogue; 11 brighter than 5 and 3 brighter than 4.
INTERACTIVE LAB
Where is Ursa Minor tonight?
Seen from Ankara, most of this constellation never sets. Drag the time slider through the night to watch it circle the pole; the “Best night” button jumps to the date when it is highest at 21:00 (around 10 July).
MYTH, HISTORY AND OBSERVING
Also known as the Little Dipper; today’s pole star, Polaris, lies at the end of its handle. Polaris is about 0.7° from the celestial pole and is itself a Cepheid variable. In Türkiye its altitude above the horizon equals your latitude (about 36–42°).
BRIGHTEST STARS
| Star | Magnitude | Distance (light-years) | Spectral type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polaris | 1.97 | 433 | F7:Ib-IIv |
| Kochab | 2.07 | 131 | K4IIIvar |
| Pherkad | 3.00 | 487 | A3II-III |
| ε UMi | 4.21 | 304 | G5IIIvar |
| 5 UMi | 4.25 | 359 | K4III |
| ζ UMi | 4.29 | 369 | A3Vn |
| Yildun | 4.35 | 172 | A1Vn |
| HIP 73199 | 4.63 | 459 | M5III |
Magnitude: apparent brightness; the smaller the number, the brighter the star. Distances derive from parallax measurements and are uncertain for distant stars. Source: HYG v4.1 star catalogue (CC BY-SA 4.0).
SOURCES
Position, visibility and best observing time were computed approximately for this page from the catalogue stars (Ankara, 39.9° N). The 88 constellations were adopted by the IAU in 1922; their boundaries were drawn by Eugène Delporte in 1930.