Ursa Minor Ursa Minor Ursa Minor (Latin: "Lesser Bear", contrasting with Ursa Major), also known as the Little Bear, is a constellation in the Northern Sky. Like the Great Bear, the tail of the Little Bear may also be seen as the handle of a ladle, hence the North American name, Little Dipper: seven stars with four in its bowl like its partner the Big Dipper. It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. Ursa Minor has traditionally been important for navigation, particularly by mariners, because of Polaris being
Ursa Major Moving Group to be a member of the group, but may not be, according to research in 2003 by Jeremy King et al. at Clemson University. This research seems to indicate that it is too young to be a member. Our Solar System is in the outskirts of this stream, but is not a member, being about 10 times older. Our Sun merely drifted in along its 250-million-year galactic orbit, and 40 million years ago was nowhere near the Ursa Major group. Ursa Major Moving Group The Ursa Major Moving Group, also known as Collinder 285 and the Ursa Major association, is