Star profile
24 Ursae Minoris
Northern polar starWhat is 24 Ursae Minoris
24 Ursae Minoris burns some 153 light-years away, a white A-type star set into the body of the Lesser Bear, a step from Polaris. Because of its northern circumpolar position it never sinks below the horizon for European skies: it wheels slowly, night after night, around the axis of the world. Its light set out deep in the nineteenth century —the years helium was identified in the solar spectrum— and only now completes the journey.
Where it is and when to see it
24 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 55° up.
- From New York it never sets and culminates about 44° up.
- From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 3° S.
It ranks no. 22 in brightness among the 25 stars of Ursa Minor in our catalogue. To find it, start from Polaris, the brightest: it lies about 4° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 150 years ago.
It opens in your browser. Free, no account, nothing to install.
Leave your signature on 24 Ursae Minoris
Your name and a message go up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.
Without a lock, someone else can replace your signature. How the lock works
We'll ask for an email to confirm it's you, no password.
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 24 Ursae Minoris
- Constellation
- Ursa Minor
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.78
- Distance
- 152.9 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 262.696° · Dec 86.968°
- Catalogue
- HIP 85699 · HD 166926
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.
- PolarisAlpha Ursae Minoris1.97
- KochabBeta Ursae Minoris2.07
- PherkadGamma Ursae Minoris3.00
- HIP 765195.65
- HIP 786615.73
- HIP 847695.74
- HIP 655365.82
- HIP 669035.91