THE CONSTELLATIONS OF SPRING.
URSA MAJOR (er´sa mā´-jor)—THE GREAT BEAR. (Face North.)
Location.—Ursa Major is probably the best known of the constellations, and in this work I presuppose that the reader is familiar with its position in the heavens. It is one of the most noted and conspicuous constellations in the northern hemisphere, and is readily and unmistakably distinguished from all others by means of a remarkable cluster of seven bright stars in the northern heavens, forming what is familiarly termed "The Dipper."
The stars α and β are called the pointers, because they always point toward the Pole Star, 28¾° distant from α.
Alioth is very nearly opposite Shedir in Cassiopeia, and at an equal distance from the Pole. The same can be said of Megres, in Ursa Major, and Caph, in Cassiopeia.