Alula Australis

Its story

Alula Australis lies just 34 light-years away, in one of the hind paws of Ursa Major, almost on the threshold of the Solar System itself. Its name comes from a curious blend of the Arabic «al-`ula», the first leap of the gazelles that populated its celestial bestiary, and the Latin «australis», the southern one, to distinguish it from its northern companion in the same constellation. A neighbouring star, yellow much like our Sun, close enough to be a recurring candidate in studies of potentially habitable planets around stars other than our own.