Star profile

55 Ursae Majoris

3D likeness based on its real data · class A · ~8,500 K

What is 55 Ursae Majoris

55 Ursae Majoris sits in the Great Bear, far from the handful of bright stars that draw the famous Plough. It is a white A-type star some 192 light-years away, hotter and more luminous than the Sun, with the bluish glare typical of its class. Its light set out during the industrial revolution; it now crosses the height of the northern sky as a discreet glimmer among the legs of the mythic animal.

Where it is and when to see it

55 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 culminates about 77° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 87° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 18° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 52° S.

It ranks no. 32 in brightness among the 124 stars of Ursa Major in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alioth, the brightest: it lies about 24° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 190 years ago.

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Astronomical data for 55 Ursae Majoris

Constellation: Ursa Major
Apparent magnitude: 4.76
Distance: 191.9 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 169.783° · Dec 38.186°
Catalogue: HIP 55266 · HD 98353

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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