Ursa Major best-known patterns in the sky. Like many of its common names allude to, its shape is said to resemble either a ladle, an agricultural plough or wagon; in the context of Ursa Major, they are commonly drawn to represent the hindquarters and tail of the Great Bear. Starting with the "ladle" portion of the dipper and extending clockwise (eastward in the sky) through the handle, these stars are the following: Except for Dubhe and Alkaid, the stars of the Big Dipper all have proper motions heading toward a common point in Sagittarius. A few other such stars have been identified,
Ursa, Illinois Ursa, Illinois Ursa is a village in Adams County, Illinois, United States. The population was 626 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Quincy, IL–MO Micropolitan Statistical Area. Ursa is located at (40.074653, -91.370776). According to the 2010 census, Ursa has a total area of , all land. The first settlers came to Ursa in 1823. As of the census of 2000, there were 595 people, 252 households, and 167 families residing in the village. The population density was 872.9 people per square mile (337.8/km²). There were 261 housing units at an average density of 382.9 per square