Ursa Major–The Constellations Coordinates

Ursa Major, the Great Bear, is one of the best-known constellations in the Northern hemisphere.

The seven stars Alkaid, Mizar, Alioth, Megrez, Phecda, Dubhe, and Merak form a group of stars rather than a constellation.

The group has been given several names: The Plough, Charles’ Wain, The Big Dipper, and the Wheelbarrow. In Indian mythology, the seven stars represent the Sapta Rishi (Seven Sages).

Mizar is a very interesting star, as it has a companion star, Alcor. In the past, the ability to distinguish between Mizar and Alcor was taken as a measure of visual acuity.  Mizar is known as Vashistha, one of the Saptarishi, and Alcor as Arundhati, wife of Vashistha, in Indian astronomy. As a married couple, they are considered to symbolize marriage, and in some Hindu communities to this day priests conducting a wedding ceremony allude to or point out the asterism as a symbol of the closeness marriage brings to a couple.

Although, for example, Dubhe, Merak, and Polaris appear to be in a straight line, in reality, Dubhe is about 23 light years from the Sun, Merak is about 19 light years from the Sun, while Polaris is about 430 light years away!