Beta Ursae Majoris

Also known as Merak, 48 Ursae Majoris, HD 95418, The Celestial Rotating Jade, 48 UMa, β UMa, β Ursae Majoris, NSV 5053

star in constellation of Ursa Major

In the Vinony graph

Within Vinony's link graph, Beta Ursae Majoris is referenced by 301 other articles, and connects out to list of stars in Ursa Major, stellar classification and year.

Vinony files it under Am stars, A-type main-sequence stars and Bayer objects.

Its subject is documented across 36 Wikipedia language editions.

Key facts

Constellation: Ursa Major
Right ascension: 11 01 50.47654
Declination: +56 ° 22 ′ 56.7339 ″
Apparent magnitude v: +2.37
Evolutionary stage: Main sequence
Spectral type: A1IVps
U b color index: +0.00
Variable type: Suspected

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Distance from Earth: 25.9047
Diameter: 3950000
Mass: 2.7
Image: Ursa major star name.png

Show 15 more facts

spectral class: A2
catalog code: WISEA J110150.58+562257.1
stellar rotational velocity: 47.0
apparent magnitude: 2.35
effective temperature: 8300
radial velocity: -11.3
parallax: 38.6031
metallicity: -0.7
surface gravity: 20000
absolute magnitude: 0.429
right ascension component of proper motion: 82
declination component of proper motion: 32.365
right ascension: 165.46033229797
declination: 56.38243364950
Commons category: Beta Ursae Majoris

Sources (4)

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Encyclopedic overview

Size comparison between the Sun, Beta Ursae Majoris, Pollux, and Arcturus. Merak /ˈmɪəræk/, also called Beta Ursae Majoris (β Ursae Majoris, abbreviated Beta UMa, β UMa), is a star in the northern constellation of Ursa Major.

The apparent visual magnitude of this star is +2.37, which means it is readily visible to the naked eye. It is more familiar to Northern Hemisphere observers as one of the "pointer stars" in the Big Dipper, or the Plough (UK), which is a prominent asterism of seven stars that forms part of the larger constellation. Extending an imaginary straight line from this star through the nearby Alpha Ursae Majoris (Dubhe) extends to Polaris, the north star.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Beta Ursae Majoris” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.