Star profile

42 Ursae Majoris

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

What is 42 Ursae Majoris

42 Ursae Majoris is an orange giant 273 light-years away, tucked into the Great Bear away from the iconic Plough. It belongs to the family of suns that have left quiet hydrogen burning behind and swollen into warm-toned embers. Its light set out in the early eighteenth century, while Newton was still publishing his final corrections to the Principia. It arrives today as ancient amber, while the Bear keeps its slow polar turn.

Where it is and when to see it

42 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 February, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it never sets and culminates about 82° up.
From New York it never sets and culminates about 71° up.
From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 31° S.

It ranks no. 73 in brightness among the 124 stars of Ursa Major in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alioth, the brightest: it lies about 17° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 270 years ago.

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Astronomical data for 42 Ursae Majoris

Constellation: Ursa Major
Apparent magnitude: 5.57
Distance: 272.5 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 162.849° · Dec 59.320°
Catalogue: HIP 53064 · HD 93875

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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