L'Étoile du Nord

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[[File:L'Étoile du Nord from AmCyc Minnesota seal.png|thumb|right|The motto, as it appears on the 1879 [[Seal of Minnesota]]]]

[[File:L'Étoile du Nord from AmCyc Minnesota seal.png|thumb|right|The motto, as it appears on the 1879 [[Seal of Minnesota]]]]

'''''L'Étoile du Nord''''' is the official state motto of the [[U.S. state]] of [[Minnesota]].<ref>{{cite web | title = 2006 Minnesota Statute § 1.135, subd. 3(f)(1) | publisher = State of Minnesota Revisor of Statutes | url = http://ros.leg.mn/bin/getpub.php?pubtype=STAT_CHAP_SEC&year=current&section=1.135&image.x=34&image.y=9 | accessdate = 2007-02-19 }}</ref> It is a [[French language|French]] phrase meaning "'''The Star of the North'''," the only U.S. state motto in French. It was chosen by the state's first governor, [[Henry Hastings Sibley]], and adopted in 1861, three years after Minnesota's admission to the union.<ref name = Motto>{{cite web|url=http://www.leg.state.mn.us/leg/Symbols.asp#motto|format=|title=Minnesota State Symbols: State Motto|accessdate=2007-02-19}}</ref> The land that became Minnesota was the northernmost section in the [[Northwest Territory]], and Minnesota is the northernmost state in the contiguous United States. Because of this motto, one of Minnesota's nicknames is ''The North Star State''. The [[Minnesota North Stars]] ice hockey team chose the English translation for their name.

'''''L'Étoile du Nord''''' is the official state motto of the [[U.S. state]] of [[Minnesota]].<ref>{{cite web | title = 2006 Minnesota Statute § 1.135, subd. 3(f)(1) | publisher = State of Minnesota Revisor of Statutes | url = http://ros.leg.mn/bin/getpub.php?pubtype=STAT_CHAP_SEC&year=current&section=1.135&image.x=34&image.y=9 | accessdate = 2007-02-19 }}</ref> It is a [[French language|French]] phrase meaning "'''The Star of the North'''", the only U.S. state motto in French. It was chosen by the state's first governor, [[Henry Hastings Sibley]], and adopted in 1861, three years after Minnesota's admission to the union.<ref name = Motto>{{cite web|url=http://www.leg.state.mn.us/leg/Symbols.asp#motto|format=|title=Minnesota State Symbols: State Motto|accessdate=2007-02-19}}</ref> The land that became Minnesota was the northernmost section in the [[Northwest Territory]], and Minnesota is the northernmost state in the contiguous United States. Because of this motto, one of Minnesota's nicknames is ''The North Star State''. The [[Minnesota North Stars]] ice hockey team chose the English translation for their name.

In the northern hemisphere, the North Star ([[Polaris]]) is a part of the tip of the handle and the brightest star of the constellation [[Ursa Minor]] (known also as Little Bear and as the Little Dipper). Ursa Minor has traditionally been important for navigation, because Polaris is the star closest to the [[North Celestial Pole]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ursa Minor|url=http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Ursa_Minor.html|access-date=2021-07-03|website=www.astro.wisc.edu}}</ref>

In the northern hemisphere, the North Star ([[Polaris]]) is a part of the tip of the handle and the brightest star of the constellation [[Ursa Minor]] (known also as Little Bear and as the Little Dipper). Ursa Minor has traditionally been important for navigation, because Polaris is the star closest to the [[North Celestial Pole]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ursa Minor|url=http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Ursa_Minor.html|access-date=2021-07-03|website=www.astro.wisc.edu}}</ref>