Star profile

Yildun

Delta Ursae Minoris · Ursa Minor

Northern polar star

3D likeness based on its real data · class A · ~8,500 K

What is Yildun

Yildun is a small white star in the tail of Ursa Minor, very close to Polaris in the asterism's outline. Its name, drawn from the Turkish «yıldız», simply means «star» — a rare case among stellar names of mostly Arabic origin. At 172 light-years, it seems almost to stand guard over the celestial North Pole, that motionless point around which the whole northern sky appears to wheel.

Where it is and when to see it

Yildun 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. 7 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 170 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Yildun

Constellation: Ursa Minor
Apparent magnitude: 4.35
Distance: 172.1 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 263.054° · Dec 86.586°
Catalogue: HIP 85822 · HD 166205

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