Constellation Lesser Bear (Ursa Minor)
Lesser Bear is one of the 88 constellations that carve up the sky. It sits in the far northern sky and rides highest overhead around May.
Bright stars in Lesser Bear
| Name | Bayer | Magnitude | Type | Distance (ly) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polaris-A | alpha UMi A | 1.97 | F7Ib | 433.0 |
| Polaris | alpha UMi | 1.98 | F7Ib | 433.0 |
| Kochab | beta UMi | 2.07 | K4III | 130.9 |
About the constellation
The constellation Lesser Bear (Latin Ursa Minor) lies in the far northern sky. It passes highest around midnight in May, so the weeks around then are the easiest time to track it down. Its brightest star is Polaris-A, at magnitude 2.0, easy to pick out even from a lit-up city. From the southern hemisphere it stays very low or hidden, close to the north celestial pole. Astronomers label its stars with the genitive form Ursae Minoris, as in "Alpha Ursae Minoris".
Other constellations
And Ant Aps Aql Aqr Ara Ari Aur Boo Cae Cam Cnc CVn CMa CMi Cap Car Cas Cen Cep Cet Cha Cir Col Com CrA CrB Crv Crt Cru Cyg Del Dor Dra Equ Eri For Gem Gru Her Hor Hya Hyi Ind Lac Leo LMi Lep Lib Lup Lyn Lyr Men Mic Mon Mus Nor Oct Oph Ori Pav Peg Per Phe Pic Psc PsA Pup Pyx Ret Sge Sgr Sco Scl Sct Ser Sex Tau Tel Tri TrA Tuc UMa Vel Vir Vol Vul