Ursa Minor was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. It is the location of the north celestial pole and contains the famous Little Dipper asterism, with Polaris, the North Star, located at the end of the dipper handle. In Greek mythology, Zeus (the king of the gods) lusts after a young woman named Callisto, a nymph of Artemis. Hera, Zeus' jealous wife, transforms the beautiful Callisto into a bear. Callisto, while in bear form, later encounters her son Arcas. Arcas almost shoots the bear, but to avert the tragedy, Zeus turns them into bears and puts them in the sky, forming Ursa Major and Ursa Minor
