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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:47  
clear_day Transit: 11:49  
SunsetSet: 15:50 south
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All Constellations » Ursa Minor » 

η Ursae Minoris (eta Ursae Minoris)

Altitude: 46.9°   Azimuth: 339.3°   Direction: North-North-West

η Ursae Minoris is a double main-sequence star in the constellation of Ursa Minor.

η Ursae Minoris visual magnitude is 4.95. Because of its moderate brightness, η Ursae Minoris 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 η Ursae Minoris:

4.95
Main-sequence

η Ursae Minoris (eta Ursae Minoris) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 46.9°
Azimuth: 339.3°
Direction: North-North-West

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of η Ursae Minoris

η Ursae Minoris is situated close to the northern celestial pole and, as such, it is visible for most part of the year from the northern hemisphere. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of η Ursae Minoris are provided in the following table:

16h 17m 30s
+75° 45’ 19”
109.27°
35.33°
Ursa Minor

The simplified sky map below shows the position of η Ursae Minoris in the sky:

Finder chart η Ursae Minoris (eta Ursae Minoris) star
Simplified finder chart for η Ursae Minoris (eta Ursae Minoris).

Visibility of η Ursae Minoris from your location

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

η Ursae Minoris (eta Ursae Minoris) is circumpolar and transits at 11:21 UTC (altitude: 65.7°)

Digitized Sky Survey image of η Ursae Minoris

The image below is a photograph of η Ursae Minoris 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 η Ursae Minoris is -0.085 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and 0.252 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 1000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of η Ursae Minoris (eta Ursae Minoris) star
DSS2 image of η Ursae Minoris. The red arrow shows the motion of η Ursae Minoris during the next 1000 years (-1.42 arcmin in Right Ascension and 4.20 arcmin in declination);

Distance of η Ursae Minoris from the Sun and relative movement

η Ursae Minoris is distant 97.26 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 10 kilometers per second.

29.83 pc
97.26 ly
-10 km/s
-0.085 arcsec/year
0.252 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of η Ursae Minoris

η Ursae Minoris belongs to spectral class F5 and has a luminosity class of V corresponding to a main-sequence star.

2.58
F5V
7044K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where η Ursae Minoris is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

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

η Ursae Minoris star system properties

η Ursae Minoris 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 η Ursae Minoris double sysyem:

4.95
15.75
10.8
227 arcsec

Alternative designations of η Ursae Minoris

η Ursae Minoris
(eta Ursae Minoris)
21 Ursae Minoris
SAO8470
SAO8470
NN 3950 A