Star profile

11 Ursae Minoris

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

What is 11 Ursae Minoris

11 Ursae Minoris is an orange K-type giant 398 light-years away in the Little Bear, the small constellation that pivots through the night around the pole star. Its light, with nearly four centuries of travel behind it, arrives warm and steady. It is not one of those that guide travellers, yet it discreetly accompanies the most useful asterism in the history of navigation.

Where it is and when to see it

11 Ursae Minoris 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 70° up.
From New York it never sets and culminates about 59° up.
From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 18° S.

It ranks no. 12 in brightness among the 25 stars of Ursa Minor in our catalogue. To find it, start from Polaris, the brightest: it lies about 19° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 400 years ago.

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Astronomical data for 11 Ursae Minoris

Constellation: Ursa Minor
Apparent magnitude: 5.02
Distance: 398.3 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 229.275° · Dec 71.824°
Catalogue: HIP 74793 · HD 136726

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Other stars in Ursa Minor

Ursa Minor has 25 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 25 stars in Ursa Minor