Star profile

Epsilon Ursae Minoris

Variable star

3D likeness based on its real data · class G · ~5,500 K

What is Epsilon Ursae Minoris

Epsilon Ursae Minoris dwells in the tail of the little polar bear, some 304 light-years away. It is a variable G-type star, a yellow giant whose brightness shifts faintly due to eclipses within its system. Alongside its sisters Polaris and Kochab, it helps define the lopsided dipper that for centuries guided navigators toward true north.

Where it is and when to see it

Epsilon 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 December, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it never sets and culminates about 59° up.
From New York it never sets and culminates about 49° up.
From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 8° S.

It ranks no. 4 in brightness among the 25 stars of Ursa Minor in our catalogue. To find it, start from Polaris, the brightest: it lies about 9° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 300 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Epsilon Ursae Minoris

Constellation: Ursa Minor
Apparent magnitude: 4.21
Distance: 304.0 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 251.492° · Dec 82.037°
Catalogue: HIP 82080 · HD 153751

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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