Ursa Minor (cave) Ursa Minor (cave) Ursa Minor Cave is part of Sequoia National Park, a naturally formed system of caves in California's Sierra Nevada. The cave was discovered in August 2006 by four cave explorers from the Cave Research Foundation who found a softball-sized hole on a cliff face in the mountains. After widening the hole to allow for human entry, the explorers discovered one of the most spectacular caves in the western United States. The cave has since been named "Ursa Minor," because of the large bear skeleton found in the cave. The cave was featured in the September 2007 issue
Ursa Major and together they are called the Ursa Major Moving Group. The stars Merak (β Ursae Majoris) and Dubhe (α Ursae Majoris) are known as the "pointer stars" because they are helpful for finding Polaris, also known as the North Star or Pole Star. By visually tracing a line from Merak through Dubhe (1 unit) and continuing for 5 units, one's eye will land on Polaris, accurately indicating true north. Another asterism known as the "Three Leaps of the Gazelle" is recognized in Arab culture, a series of three pairs of stars found along the southern border of the constellation; From