Why did they name it the little dipper?

Answer 1

I suspect that once the more obvious asterism of the Big Dipper was named, the nearby and similar group was simply called the Little Dipper.

World cultures did not always agree, (heck, they almost never agreed) on which stars were in which asterisms, or what they represented. The which we call the Big Dipper has variously been The Plow, The Sickle, The Cart, the Great Bear (hence the constellation of Ursa Major, which is the Big Dipper plus some other stars) and, in the years following Charlemagne, Charles' Wain (wagon).

Note the distinction between asterisms, which are groups of stars seeming (often to those with strong imaginations) to form animal or other shapes, and constellations, which are tracts of sky, very like countries on a geopolitical map.

Some asterisms are the hearts of constellations, as the Big Dipper is part of Ursa Major, but some are larger. The "Summer Triangle" of Vega, Deneb and Altair takes in parts of three constellations.

Answer 2

The dippers (Big and Small) are mainly known in North America because the major stars can be seen to follow the rough outline of a large ladle or dipper.

In other countries, many different varieties exist.

Answer 3

Yes. The "official" name for the little dipper is Ursa Minor, the Little Bear. None of the stars of Ursa Minor are especially bright.

The star at the tail of the bear, or at the tip of the handle, is Polaris, the pole star.

Answer 4

The Little Dipper is also known as the Ursa Minor which means "little bear" in Latin.

Answer 5

It is an informal name of Ursa Minor. It is called the Little Dipper because it looks very much like the Big Dipper (Ura Major), only smaller.

Answer 6

Little Bear

Ursa Minor

Little Dipper

Drinkin' Gourd

Answer 7

Ursa Minor, the "little bear".