Alioth - ε Ursae Majoris (epsilon Ursae Majoris)
Alioth, also designated as ε Ursae Majoris (epsilon Ursae Majoris), is a variable hypergiant star in the constellation of Ursa Major.
Alioth visual magnitude is 1.77, making it the 31th brightest star in the sky. Thanks to its high brightness, Alioth is clearly visible when observed from locations with dark skyes, and should be also quite easily visible from light polluted areas.
The table below summarizes the key facts about Alioth:
Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Alioth
Alioth is situated north of the celestial equator, as such, it is more easily visible from the northern hemisphere. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of Alioth are provided in the following table:
The simplified sky map below shows the position of Alioth in the sky:

Visibility of Alioth from your location
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Alioth - ε Ursae Majoris (epsilon Ursae Majoris) is circumpolar and transits at 20:05 UTC (altitude: 85.5°)
Digitized Sky Survey image of Alioth
The image below is a photograph of Alioth from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2 - see the credits section) taken in the red channel. The area of sky represented in the image is 0.5x0.5 degrees (30x30 arcmins). The proper motion of Alioth is 0.112 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.006 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 1000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Distance of Alioth from the Sun and relative movement
Alioth is distant 80.89 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 9 kilometers per second.
Spectral properties of Alioth
Alioth belongs to spectral class A0 Alioth is also a Cr chemically peculiar star.
The red dot in the diagram below shows where Alioth is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.
