Star profile

Mizar

Zeta Ursae Majoris · Ursa Major

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

What is Mizar

Mizar, set in the handle of the Big Dipper, was the first double star ever identified through a telescope, in 1617, opening an entire chapter of modern astronomy. At 86 light-years away, its visible companion Alcor — discernible to keen unaided eyes — served Arab and Roman observers for centuries as a popular eyesight test, long before spectacles existed. Its name comes from the Arabic «mizar», a sash or veil, and still summarises a good chunk of the shared history of naked-eye observation and instrumental astronomy.

Where it is and when to see it

Mizar lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is March: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.

Find it on the sky map

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The signature wall

Stelvia's sky works like a signature wall: anyone can leave their name and a message on a real star, and that signature goes up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.

A signature without a lock can be replaced by someone else's. The lock makes the signature permanent and lets you choose a symbolic name for the star, always shown next to the star's catalogue identifier. How the lock works

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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 Mizar

Constellation: Ursa Major
Apparent magnitude: 2.23
Distance: 85.8 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 200.981° · Dec 54.925°
Catalogue: HIP 65378 · HD 116656

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