The Collaborative International Dictionary
Ursa \Ur"sa\, n. [L. ursa a she-bear, also, a constellation, fem. of ursus a bear. Cf. Arctic.] (Astron.) Either one of the Bears. See the Phrases below.
Ursa Major [L.], the Great Bear, one of the most conspicuous of the northern constellations. It is situated near the pole, and contains the stars which form the Dipper, or Charles's Wain, two of which are the Pointers, or stars which point towards the North Star.
Ursa Minor [L.], the Little Bear, the constellation nearest the north pole. It contains the north star, or polestar, which is situated in the extremity of the tail.
Bear \Bear\ (b[^a]r), n. [OE. bere, AS. bera; akin to D. beer, OHG. bero, pero, G. b["a]r, Icel. & Sw. bj["o]rn, and possibly to L. fera wild beast, Gr. fh`r beast, Skr. bhalla bear.]
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(Zo["o]l.) Any species of the genus Ursus, and of the closely allied genera. Bears are plantigrade Carnivora, but they live largely on fruit and insects.
Note: The European brown bear ( Ursus arctos), the white polar bear ( Ursus maritimus), the grizzly bear ( Ursus horribilis), the American black bear, and its variety the cinnamon bear ( Ursus Americanus), the Syrian bear ( Ursus Syriacus), and the sloth bear, are among the notable species.
(Zo["o]l.) An animal which has some resemblance to a bear in form or habits, but no real affinity; as, the woolly bear; ant bear; water bear; sea bear.
(Astron.) One of two constellations in the northern hemisphere, called respectively the Great Bear and the Lesser Bear, or Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.
Metaphorically: A brutal, coarse, or morose person.
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(Stock Exchange) A person who sells stocks or securities for future delivery in expectation of a fall in the market.
Note: The bears and bulls of the Stock Exchange, whose interest it is, the one to depress, and the other to raise, stocks, are said to be so called in allusion to the bear's habit of pulling down, and the bull's of tossing up.
(Mach.) A portable punching machine.
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(Naut.) A block covered with coarse matting; -- used to scour the deck. Australian bear. (Zo["o]l.) See Koala. Bear baiting, the sport of baiting bears with dogs. Bear caterpillar (Zo["o]l.), the hairy larva of a moth, esp. of the genus Euprepia. Bear garden.
A place where bears are kept for diversion or fighting.
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Any place where riotous conduct is common or permitted.
--M. Arnold.Bear leader, one who leads about a performing bear for money; hence, a facetious term for one who takes charge of a young man on his travels.
Wikipedia
Ursa Minor ( Latin: "Smaller She-Bear", contrasting with Ursa Major), also known as the Little Bear, is a constellation in the Northern Sky. Like the Great Bear, the tail of the Little Bear may also be seen as the handle of a ladle, hence the North American name, Little Dipper: seven stars with four in its bowl like its partner the Big Dipper. It 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 mariners, because of Polaris being the North Star.
Polaris, the brightest star in the constellation, is a yellow-white supergiant and the brightest Cepheid variable star in the night sky, ranging from an apparent magnitude of 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 magnitude 3 Gamma Ursae Minoris have been called the "guardians of the pole star". Planets have been detected orbiting four of the stars, including Kochab. The constellation also contains an isolated neutron star— Calvera—and H1504+65, the hottest white dwarf yet discovered, with a surface temperature of 200,000 K.
Ursa Minor (little bear) is a constellation of stars.
Ursa Minor may also refer to:
Ursa Minor Cave is part of Sequoia National Park, a naturally formed system of caves in California's Sierra Nevada. The cave was discovered in August 2006 by four cave explorers from the Caveman Research Foundation who found a softball-sized hole on a cliff face in the mountains. After widening the hole to allow for human entry, the explorers discovered one of the most spectacular caves in the western United States. The cave has since been named "Ursa Minor," because of the large bear skeleton found in the cave.
The cave was featured in the September 2007 issue of National Geographic magazine and has attracted many scientists and researchers interested in finding new species of troglobites, organisms that live in the complete darkness afforded by caves. Similar caves such as the Kaweah cave and Lost Soldiers cave have yielded over twenty new species of these exotic and rare species, which are sometimes limited to only a single pool of water or room of a cave.
Access to this sensitive cave is currently limited to scientific and survey trips.
Usage examples of "ursa minor".
Through a large window the brilliant sun of Ursa Minor Beta threw blocks of light in which danced small specks of dust.
And yes, sure as sure, there it was, there could be no mistake: at the point which marked Polaris, the North Star in Ursa Minor - the Flying Swan.
Instead of remembering the first time he held his son, Norm would stare up at Ursa Minor thinking of the last time he'd stayed up all night staring at Ursa Minor trying to remember the weight of a tiny child held against his chest.
The other reason was that this device was in fact that most remarkable of all books ever to come out of the great publishing corporations of Ursa Minor - The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
The other reason was that this device was in fact that most remarkable of all books ever to come out of the great publishing corporations of Ursa Minor - The Hitch Hiker’.