The god Zeus, however, saw Castillo one day and fell in love. Various mythologies and legends all around the world associated the Ursa Major constellation with a bear.įor example, in Greek Mythology, Ursa Major is associated with the story of Castillo, a beautiful nymph who had sworn a vow of chastity. The constellation is referenced in many ancient literatures, including Homer, and even the Bible. The Big Dipper, being a circumpolar star, is always visible all year long for observers in the Northern Hemisphere. It is especially famous for the Big Dipper, the spoon-shaped asterism, which is arguably one of the most familiar shapes in the night sky. Ursa Major is one of, if not the most popular constellations, often featured in popular culture. It is the 27th largest constellation, so it’s not that small, but its brightest star, Alpha Cephei or Alderamin, is only the 89th brightest star in the night sky. We can find Cepheus between Ursa Minor, Draco, and Cassiopeia.
We can also easily find Cassiopeia by looking for its unique W shape. Draco and Cepheus, on the other hand, are not that easy to find, although they are actually pretty big.ĭraco, in fact, is the eight-largest constellation in all the celestial sphere, but it’s brightest star, Elnanin or Gamma Draconis isn’t very bright, only as bright as Mizar, the fourth brightest star of the Ursa Major. Ursa Minor, on the other hand, contains the Little Dipper, that albeit slightly fainter than the Big Dipper, is still fairly easy to find in the night sky. Out of these five, three are fairly easy to observe: Ursa Major is the largest of all northern constellations, so it is easy to find, not to mention it also consists of the famous Big Dipper. The Polaris, the North Star, is actually a part of the Ursa Minor constellation, and as we’ve discussed the Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Cassiopeia, Cepheus and Draco constellations can always be seen as circling the Polaris year-round if you are located in the Northern Hemisphere. There are five circumpolar constellations in the northern hemisphere, and three circumpolar constellations in the southern hemisphere: 5 Northern Circumpolar Constellations: Meaning, people in the northern hemisphere can always see the northern circumpolar constellations, and vice versa.Ī unique phenomenon to consider is that observers on the planet’s Equator cannot see any of these circumpolar constellations. In the northern hemisphere, circumpolar stars rotate around Polaris, the North Star, but it’s important to note that circumpolar constellations actually depend on the observer’s location. This is because of the Earth’s axial tilt as it revolves around the Sun.Ĭircumpolar constellations, however, appear to rotate around the Earth’s poles. This is as opposed to spring and winter constellations, which are seasonal and you can only see them in specific time of the year, depending on your location. It circles the north and south celestial poles (hence the name circum, meaning encircling, and polar) without ever dipping below the horizon. Circumpolar Constellations ExplainedĬircumpolar constellations are constellations that never set below the horizon when seen from a particular location on Earth. Here, we will learn all you need to know about circumpolar constellations, but let us begin from the very beginning. This is all possible because there are constellations in the night sky that remain relatively fixed in the sky throughout the years, which are known as circumpolar constellations. Constellations also served important practical functions as a navigational tool for sailors and travelers as well. As we know, there are so many constellations we can observe in the night sky, and since the ancient days, our ancestors have treated the night sky with great importance.Ĭonstellations play an integral part in Greek and Roman mythology and religion.
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