Ursa Minor

Ursa Minor is a constellation in the northern sky, whose name means the "Lesser Bear" in Latin. It is one of the 88 modern constellations, and was also one of the 48 listed by Ptolemy. It is notable as the location of the north celestial pole, although this will change after some centuries due to the effects of precession.

Ursa Minor contains an asterism colloquially known as the Little Dipper because its brightest stars seem to form a ladle, or dipper shape. The star at the end of the dipper handle is Polaris, the North or Pole Star. Polaris can also be found by following a line through the two stars which form the end of the "bowl" of the Big Dipper, a nearby asterism found in the constellation Ursa Major.