Editing Ursa Minor (section)

{{Short description|Constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere}}
{{Redirect|Little Dipper||Little Dipper (disambiguation)|and|Ursa Minor (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|UMi|other uses|Umi (disambiguation){{!}}Umi}}
{{Infobox constellation
| name = Ursa Minor
| abbreviation = UMi<ref name="boundary" />
| genitive = Ursae Minoris<ref name="boundary" />
| pronounce = {{ubl|{{IPAc-en|ˌ|ɜːr|s|ə|_|ˈ|m|aɪ|n|ər|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-AnotherFriendlyHuman-Ursa Minor.wav}} {{respell|UR|sə|_|MY|nər}}|Genitive: {{IPAc-en|ˌ|ɜːr|s|iː|_|m|ᵻ|ˈ|n|ɔr|ᵻ|s}} {{respell|UR|see|_|min|OR|iss}}}}
| symbolism = the Little Bear<ref name="boundary" />
| RA = {{RA|00|00}} to {{RA|24|00}}<ref name="boundary" />
| dec= 65.40° to 90°<ref name="boundary" />
| family = [[Ursa Major Family|Ursa Major]]
| quadrant = NQ3
| areatotal = 256
| arearank = 56th
| numbermainstars = 7
| numberbfstars = 23
| numberstarsplanets = 4
| numberbrightstars = 3
| numbernearbystars = 0
| brighteststarname = [[Polaris]]<ref name=Wisc>{{cite web| title=Ursa Minor |author= Department of Astronomy |publisher= University of Wisconsin–Madison |year= 1995 |access-date=27 June 2015|url=http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Ursa_Minor.html}}</ref>
| starmagnitude = 1.97
| neareststarname = [[UU Ursae Minoris|UU UMi]]
| stardistancely = 42.60
| stardistancepc = 13.06
| numbermessierobjects = 0
| meteorshowers = [[Ursids]]
| bordering = {{ubl|[[Draco (constellation)|Draco]]|[[Camelopardalis]]|[[Cepheus (constellation)|Cepheus]]}}
| latmax = [[North Pole|90]]
| latmin = [[10th parallel south|10]]
| month = June<ref name=Wisc />
| notes=
}}

'''Ursa Minor''' ({{langnf|la||Lesser Bear}}, contrasting with [[Ursa Major]]), also known as the '''Little Bear''', is a [[constellation]] located in the far [[northern celestial hemisphere|northern sky]]. As with the Great Bear, the tail of the Little Bear may also be seen as the handle of a [[Ladle (spoon)|ladle]], hence the North American name, '''Little Dipper''': seven stars with four in its bowl like its partner the [[Big Dipper]]. Ursa Minor was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer [[Ptolemy]], and remains one of the [[88 modern constellations]]. Ursa Minor has traditionally been important for [[navigation]], particularly by [[Sailor|mariners]], because of [[Polaris]] being the north [[pole star]].

Polaris, the brightest [[star]] in the constellation, is a yellow-white [[supergiant]] and the brightest [[Cepheid variable]] star in the night sky, ranging in [[apparent magnitude]] from 1.97 to 2.00. [[Beta Ursae Minoris]], also known as Kochab, is an aging star that has swollen and cooled to become an [[orange giant]] with an apparent magnitude of 2.08, only slightly fainter than Polaris. Kochab and 3rd-magnitude [[Gamma Ursae Minoris]] have been called the "guardians of the pole star" or "Guardians of The Pole".<ref name=startales>{{cite web|url=http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/ursaminor.html#polaris|title=Star Tales – Ursa Minor|access-date=2024-07-22}}</ref> Planets have been detected orbiting four of the stars, including Kochab. The constellation also contains an isolated neutron star—[[Calvera (X-ray source)|Calvera]]—and [[H1504+65]], the hottest [[white dwarf]] yet discovered, with a [[effective temperature|surface temperature]] of 200,000 [[Kelvin|K]].