Star profile

Eta Ursae Minoris

3D likeness based on its real data · class F · ~6,500 K

What is Eta Ursae Minoris

Eta Ursae Minoris sits a step away from the pole star, inside the Little Bear, that constellation which for centuries guided sailors and caravans. It is a yellowish-white F-type star 97 light-years away, close enough to count as a neighbour. Its light flickers near the axis of the sky, that fixed point around which the entire firmament wheels, and silently joins the circumpolar ballet that never sets beneath the horizon for northern observers.

Where it is and when to see it

Eta 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: 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.

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The signature wall

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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 Eta Ursae Minoris

Constellation: Ursa Minor
Apparent magnitude: 4.95
Distance: 97.0 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 244.377° · Dec 75.755°
Catalogue: HIP 79822 · HD 148048

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 Minor

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

See all 25 stars in Ursa Minor