Which constellation contains the North Star?

Which constellation contains the North Star? Ursa Minor contains Polaris, the star commonly called the North Star.

Polaris lies less than one degree from the north celestial pole, so it appears almost fixed while the rest of the northern sky seems to rotate around it. That apparent stability made it valuable for navigation, especially before modern instruments.

Ursa Minor means “Little Bear” in Latin and is also familiar as the Little Dipper. Polaris marks the end of the Little Dipper’s curved handle, or the bear’s tail in traditional drawings. The constellation was among the 48 recorded by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the second century and remains one of the 88 modern constellations.

A common mix-up is confusing Ursa Minor with Ursa Major, the Great Bear. The Big Dipper’s two outer bowl stars, often called the Pointers, help locate Polaris by extending a line northward across the sky. Polaris is not the brightest star in the entire night sky, but it is the brightest star in Ursa Minor and an important marker of direction.