Star profile

Taiyangshou

Chi Ursae Majoris · Ursa Major

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

What is Taiyangshou

Taiyangshou preserves the ancient Chinese name given to this orange star in the Great Bear: literally, «the guardian of the Sun», a celestial sentinel watching over the source of daylight. It belongs to the orange giants, swollen by age and noticeably cooler than the Sun despite their luminous brightness. Its light crosses 184 light-years to reach us, a journey whose length matches almost exactly the entire history of photography as a recognised art.

Where it is and when to see it

Taiyangshou 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 86° up.
From New York it culminates about 83° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 8° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 42° S.

It ranks no. 17 in brightness among the 124 stars of Ursa Major in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alioth, the brightest: it lies about 13° 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 Taiyangshou

Constellation: Ursa Major
Apparent magnitude: 3.69
Distance: 183.7 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 176.513° · Dec 47.779°
Catalogue: HIP 57399 · HD 102224

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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