Alkaphrah - κ Ursae Majoris (kappa Ursae Majoris)

Altitude: 24.4° Azimuth: 316.3° Direction: North-West

Alkaphrah, also designated as κ Ursae Majoris (kappa Ursae Majoris), is a variable and double main-sequence star in the constellation of Ursa Major.

Alkaphrah visual magnitude is 3.6. Because of its moderate brightness, Alkaphrah should be easily visible from locations with dark skyes, while it can be barely visible, or not visible at all, from skyes affected by light pollution.

The table below summarizes the key facts about Alkaphrah:

Color of Alkaphrah ⬤

Magnitude of Alkaphrah 3.6

Class Main-sequence

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW

Alkaphrah - κ Ursae Majoris (kappa Ursae Majoris) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 24.4°
Azimuth: 316.3°
Direction: North-West

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Alkaphrah

Alkaphrah 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 Alkaphrah are provided in the following table:

Right Ascension J2000 09h 03m 37s

Declination J2000 +47° 09’ 24”

Galactic Longitude 172.63°

Galactic Latitude 41.63°

Constellation Ursa Major

The simplified sky map below shows the position of Alkaphrah in the sky:

Finder chart Alkaphrah - κ Ursae Majoris (kappa Ursae Majoris) star

Simplified finder chart for Alkaphrah - κ Ursae Majoris (kappa Ursae Majoris).

Visibility of Alkaphrah from your location

Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London

Alkaphrah - κ Ursae Majoris (kappa Ursae Majoris) is circumpolar and transits at 08:40 UTC (altitude: 85.7°)

Digitized Sky Survey image of Alkaphrah

The image below is a photograph of Alkaphrah 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 Alkaphrah is -0.033 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.054 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of Alkaphrah - κ Ursae Majoris (kappa Ursae Majoris) star

DSS2 image of Alkaphrah. The red arrow shows the motion of Alkaphrah during the next 10000 years (-5.50 arcmin in Right Ascension and -9.00 arcmin in declination);

Distance of Alkaphrah from the Sun and relative movement

Alkaphrah is distant 422.83 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 4 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 129.70 pc

Distance (light year) 422.83 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity 4 km/s

Proper Motion RA -0.033 arcsec/year

Proper Motion Dec -0.054 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of Alkaphrah

Alkaphrah belongs to spectral class A1 and has a luminosity class of V corresponding to a main-sequence star.

Absolute magnitude -1.96

Spectral Type A1V

Color Index (B-V) 0

Temperature of Alkaphrah 10125K

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

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

Alkaphrah star system properties

Alkaphrah is a visual double star which can be observed only with the help of very large telescopes. The table below shows key information about the Alkaphrah double sysyem:

Main star magnitude 3.6

Secondary star magnitude 3.8

Magnitude difference 0.2

Separation 0.3 arcsec

Alternative designations of Alkaphrah

Proper Name Alkaphrah

Bayer designation κ Ursae Majoris
(kappa Ursae Majoris)

Flamsteed designation 12 Ursae Majoris

Henry Draper Catalogue HD77327

SAO Catalogue SAO42661

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP44471

Durchmusterung Catalogue BD+47 1633

FK5 Catalogue 341

General Catalogue of Variable Stars 4357

Aitken Double Star Catalogue ADS7158

Support us

In Evidence

Other stars in Ursa Major