Star profile

Phecda

Gamma Ursae Majoris · Ursa Major

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

What is Phecda

Phecda forms one of the four corners of the Big Dipper's bowl in Ursa Major. It is a white star just 83 light-years away, among the closest in the most famous asterism of the northern sky. Its name, from the Arabic «al-fakhdh», means «the thigh» of the bear, and it belongs to a small family of Dipper stars that share a common birthplace: they were born together hundreds of millions of years ago, and still drift across the galaxy in loose formation.

Where it is and when to see it

Phecda 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 88° up.
From New York it never sets and culminates about 77° up.
From Sydney it culminates about 2° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 36° S.

It ranks no. 6 in brightness among the 124 stars of Ursa Major in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alioth, the brightest: it lies about 9° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 83 years ago.

Find it on the sky map

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

Leave your signature on Phecda

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 Phecda

Constellation: Ursa Major
Apparent magnitude: 2.41
Distance: 83.2 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 178.458° · Dec 53.695°
Catalogue: HIP 58001 · HD 103287

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