Star profile

Sigma 1 Ursae Majoris

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

What is Sigma 1 Ursae Majoris

σ¹ Ursae Majoris, outside the famous Plough, shines quietly 521 light-years away in the Great Bear. It is an orange K5 III giant, swollen to about 46 solar radii and radiating 560 times the Sun's light at just 3,940 K. Its old, tepid glow seems to hover in suspense, like a lantern lit in the galaxy's early dawn.

Where it is and when to see it

Sigma 1 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 75° up.
From New York it never sets and culminates about 64° up.
From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 23° S.

It ranks no. 48 in brightness among the 124 stars of Ursa Major in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alioth, the brightest: it lies about 28° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 520 years ago.

Find it on the sky map

It opens in your browser. Free, no account, nothing to install.

Leave your signature on Sigma 1 Ursae Majoris

Your name and a message go up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.

Without a lock, someone else can replace your signature. How the lock works

We'll ask for an email to confirm it's you, no password.

Write my signature

A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.

Astronomical data for Sigma 1 Ursae Majoris

Constellation: Ursa Major
Apparent magnitude: 5.15
Distance: 521.1 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 137.098° · Dec 66.873°
Catalogue: HIP 44857 · HD 77800

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.

See all 124 stars in Ursa Major