Star profile

Pi 2 Ursae Majoris

3D likeness based on its real data · class K · ~4,200 K

What is Pi 2 Ursae Majoris

Pi-2 Ursae Majoris, also catalogued as 4 Ursae Majoris, is an orange K2 giant 256 light-years away, swollen beyond eighteen solar radii. In 2006 a giant planet was confirmed in orbit: 4 UMa b, at least seven times the mass of Jupiter, completes one revolution every 270 days at 0.88 astronomical units. It is one of the better-known planetary systems around an ageing giant.

Where it is and when to see it

Pi 2 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 January, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it never sets and culminates about 77° up.
From New York it never sets and culminates about 66° up.
From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 26° S.

It ranks no. 26 in brightness among the 124 stars of Ursa Major in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alioth, the brightest: it lies about 31° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 260 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Pi 2 Ursae Majoris

Constellation: Ursa Major
Apparent magnitude: 4.59
Distance: 256.0 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 130.054° · Dec 64.328°
Catalogue: HIP 42527 · HD 73108

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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