Star profile

Theta Ursae Minoris

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

What is Theta Ursae Minoris

Theta Ursae Minoris is an orange-red giant of the Little Bear, nearly a hundred times the Sun's radius and shining with 1,600 times its light, about 856 light-years from the Solar System. Its K5 spectrum shows a mild overabundance of cyanogen in the atmosphere —a quiet chemical fingerprint— and it is closing in on us at 25 km per second. It shines circumpolar for almost the whole northern hemisphere: it never sets.

Where it is and when to see it

Theta 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 January, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it never sets and culminates about 64° up.
From New York it never sets and culminates about 53° up.
From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 13° S.

It ranks no. 11 in brightness among the 25 stars of Ursa Minor in our catalogue. To find it, start from Polaris, the brightest: it lies about 13° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 860 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Theta Ursae Minoris

Constellation: Ursa Minor
Apparent magnitude: 5.00
Distance: 856.2 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 232.854° · Dec 77.349°
Catalogue: HIP 76008 · HD 139669

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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