Star profile

Muscida

Omicron Ursae Majoris · Ursa Major

3D likeness based on its real data · class G · ~5,500 K

What is Muscida

Muscida marks the muzzle of the Great Bear, where the figure sniffs the northern regions of the sky. Its name, from late Latin, means precisely that: the muzzle. A yellow G-class giant 179 light years away, it is cooler and more mature than the Sun yet of the same spectral family, an older sister of our star seen on the celestial bear's face.

Where it is and when to see it

Muscida lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is January, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it never sets and culminates about 81° up.
From New York it never sets and culminates about 70° up.
From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 29° S.

It ranks no. 12 in brightness among the 124 stars of Ursa Major in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alioth, the brightest: it lies about 33° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 180 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Muscida

Constellation: Ursa Major
Apparent magnitude: 3.35
Distance: 179.1 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 127.566° · Dec 60.718°
Catalogue: HIP 41704 · HD 71369

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Other stars in Ursa Major

Ursa Major has 124 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 124 stars in Ursa Major