Particulars:
General:
The constellation which contains the celestial north pole. Ursa
Minor is also called Little Dipper because
though the stars a fainter the figure formed by the leading stars
resembles the famous Big Dipper in Ursa Major.
This constellation is nearly completely surrounded by the
constellation Draco. Only in the central region of the celestial
north pole Ursa Minor is neighboured to Cepheus and
Camelopardalis.
The stars beta UMi, Kochab (arab.
"pole star"), and gamma UMi, Pherkad,
are often called The Guardians of the Pole or
simply "The Guards".
Stars and other objects:
The Pole Star alpha UMi, commonly
called Polaris, is a Cepheid variable star.
Within a period of 4 days the brightness varies between 2.1 mag
and 2.2 mag. Additionally alpha UMi is a double star; the
companion, a star of 9th mag, can be separated with small
telescopes (the separation is 18"). The F7 supergiant Polaris
is famous because is lies just one degree away from the true
pole.
Close to the 3rd mag A3 giant gamma UMi, also known as Pherkad,
lies the 5 mag star 11 UMi. These two stars appear double
although they are unrelated. 11 UMi can be seen with the
naked eye under good conditions (otherwise binoculars are
sufficient to show the star).