Tell me about the constellation Ursa Major?

How does Big Dipper belong to it? what is difference between constellation and asterism? can you explain in simple words, because wikipedia is complicated?Tell me about the constellation Ursa Major?The way constellations are currently defined is that each constellation covers a particular area of the sky. In large part these follow the ancient mythological constellations composed of distinctive pattens of stars, however, some are more recent, particularly in the southern hemisphere. There is nothing official about the lines connecting up the brighter stars in a constellation (indeed, the lines frequently vary between sources) but often help to emphasise the structure and aid identification. The dimmer stars in the relevant area of sky are just as much of the constellation as the ones joined together by lines in the star charts that have them.



Asterisms are distinctive patterns of stars that are not constellations. The Big Dipper is such an asterism: it refers to the brightest seven stars of Ursa Major rather than the entire constellation. Other asterism can cross constellation boundaries, such as the "summer triangle" of Altair, Deneb and Vega which actually incorporates areas of five different constellations.Tell me about the constellation Ursa Major?Yes, the Big Dipper are just the brightest stars of Ursa Major.Tell me about the constellation Ursa Major?The boundaries of the 88 constellations are officially defined by the International Astronomical Union, and those boundaries are just as official as the boundaries between the various countries of the world. The patterns of stars within those boundaries are not official, and depend on the people drawing the star maps. In most cases, there is good agreement between different star maps, but Ursa Major is an exception. The Big Dipper consists of the seven brightest stars in the constellation, falling into a well-known pattern, but the fainter stars in Ursa Major form a larger pattern, only visible under dark skies.



I now live in the country, and can see all of Ursa Major: a bear with a long tail, front and hind legs, and a snout. When I lived in a city, all I could ever see was the Big Dipper: the bear's rear end and tail.Tell me about the constellation Ursa Major?
i star tested a new telescope last night with some stars in the big dipper. it was really cool.