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, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it never sets and culminates about 87° up.
From New York it never sets and culminates about 76° up.
From Sydney it culminates about 1° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 35° S.

It ranks no. 4 in brightness among the 124 stars of Ursa Major in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alioth, the brightest: it lies about 4° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 86 years ago.

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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

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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