Ursa Minor may be associated with gamma-ray source 3EG J1621+8203, which has high-energy gamma-ray emission. It is also noted for its one-sided radio jet—one of the brightest known—discovered in 1977. The Ursids, a prominent meteor shower that occurs in Ursa Minor, peaks between December 18 and 25. Its parent body is the comet 8P/Tuttle. 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
Ursa Major latitudes. From southern temperate latitudes, the main asterism is invisible, but the southern parts of the constellation can still be viewed. Appearing in the northern sky, Ursa Major occupies a large area covering 1279.66 square degrees or 3.10% of the total sky, making it the third largest constellations in the night sky. Eugène Delporte in 1930, who set the official International Astronomical Union (IAU) constellation boundaries, formed a 28-sided irregular polygon, which according to the equatorial coordinate system, stretches between the right ascension coordinates of and and the declination coordinates of +28.30° and +73.14°. Ursa Major borders eight other constellations: