Star profile
Zeta Ursae Majoris
Binary systemWhat is Zeta Ursae Majoris
Zeta-2 Ursae Majoris is Alcor, the small naked-eye companion to Mizar in the handle of the Big Dipper. For centuries it was a classic eye test: splitting the pair was a rite of passage among Turkish, Arab and European peoples. Itself a binary, sitting 79 light-years away, Alcor and Mizar together form one of the most thoroughly studied stellar groupings in the northern sky.
Where it is and when to see it
Zeta Ursae Majoris lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is March: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.
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Astronomical data for Zeta Ursae Majoris
- Constellation
- Ursa Major
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.95
- Distance
- 78.8 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 200.985° · Dec 54.920°
- Catalogue
- HYG 118887 · HD 116657
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Ursa Major
Ursa Major has 124 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- AliothEpsilon Ursae Majoris1.76
- DubheAlpha Ursae Majoris1.81
- AlkaidEta Ursae Majoris1.85
- 23 Ursae Majoris3.65
- TaiyangshouChi Ursae Majoris3.69
- Upsilon Ursae Majoris3.78
- Alcor3.99
- Alula AustralisXi Ursae Majoris4.33