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public  Greenwich, UK Greenwich, UK  ⓘ
TimezoneEurope/London
Sunrise: 7:12 
Transit: 12:47 
Sunset: 18:22
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All Constellations » Ursa Major » 

Alioth - ε Ursae Majoris (epsilon Ursae Majoris)

Above the horizon.  Circumpolar today
Alt: 17.37°   Az: 357.32°   Direction: North

Alioth, also designated as ε Ursae Majoris (epsilon Ursae Majoris), is a variable hypergiant star of spectral class A0 in the constellation of Ursa Major.

Alioth visual magnitude is 1.77, making it the 31th brightest star in the sky. Because of its brightness, Alioth is clearly visible to the naked eye when observed from locations with dark skies, and should be also quite easily visible from light polluted areas.

Image of Alioth - ε Ursae Majoris (epsilon Ursae Majoris) star
DSS2 image of Alioth. The red arrow shows the motion of Alioth during the next 1000 years (1.87 arcmin in Right Ascension and -0.10 arcmin in declination);

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

12h 55m 06s
+55° 49’ 32”
11h 41m 48s
00h 36m 54s

J2000

12h 54m 01s
+55° 57’ 34”

Galactic Coordinates

122.18°
61.16°

Finder Chart

Finder chart Alioth - ε Ursae Majoris (epsilon Ursae Majoris) star
Simplified finder chart for Alioth - ε Ursae Majoris (epsilon Ursae Majoris).

Magnitude, Color, Spectral Class

1.77
Hypergiant
Alioth is also a Cr chemically peculiar star.

-0.20
A0
10382K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where Alioth is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

HR Diagram
H-R diagram showing the position of Alioth. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

Distance, Radial Speed, Proper Motion

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.

24.81
80.89
-9 km/s
0.112 arcsec/y
-0.006"/y

Alternative Designations

Alioth
ε Ursae Majoris
(epsilon Ursae Majoris)
77 Ursae Majoris
SAO28553
SAO28553

Visibility from Your Location

Alioth - ε Ursae Majoris (epsilon Ursae Majoris) is circumpolar and transits at 11:48 UTC (altitude: 85.7°)