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11 answers

The big dipper isn't actually Ursa Major, it's just part of it. It's what's called an Asterism. From the wikipedia article that I linked at the bottom:

"In astronomy, an asterism is a pattern of stars seen in Earth's sky which is not an official constellation. Like constellations, they are composed of stars which, while they are in the same general direction, are not physically related, often being at significantly different distances from Earth. An asterism may be composed of stars from one or more constellations. Their mostly simple shapes and few stars make these patterns easy to identify and thus particularly useful to those just learning to orient themselves when viewing the night sky."

Edit: That means that the popular name for Ursa Major is "The Great Bear". Ursa Minor, however, is better known as "The Little Dipper"

2006-12-23 09:21:44 · answer #1 · answered by anecdoteman1 2 · 2 1

Actually The Big Dipper isn't the more popular name of the constellation Ursa Major. The Big Dipper is an asterism which is a smaller picture within a constellation. There is not a more popular name for the constellation Ursa Major. Most people just see The Big Dipper when observing Ursa Major so they do not realize that there is more to it.

2006-12-23 09:28:50 · answer #2 · answered by Ari 1 · 1 0

Big Dipper

2006-12-23 09:18:44 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Big Dipper

2006-12-23 09:18:25 · answer #4 · answered by drummerzac1 3 · 1 0

1. Cassiopeia. 2. Carina. 3. Atria. 4. Vega. 5. Electra. 6. Ginnah. 7. Kastra. 8. Libra. 9. Auriga. 10. Capella.

2016-05-23 02:24:58 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

U B talkin bout the BIG DIPPER

2006-12-23 09:20:08 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

The Big Dipper it is..

2006-12-23 09:18:46 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

the big dipper

2006-12-23 09:18:53 · answer #8 · answered by wilrycar 4 · 0 0

the big dipper

2006-12-23 09:25:30 · answer #9 · answered by Mr Ed 7 · 1 0

big dipper

2006-12-23 09:18:59 · answer #10 · answered by wrldzgr8stdad 4 · 0 0

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