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public  Greenwich, UK Greenwich, UK  ⓘ
TimezoneEurope/London
Sunrise: 7:12 
Transit: 12:14 
Sunset: 17:16
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All Constellations » Ursa Major » 

Merak - β Ursae Majoris (beta Ursae Majoris)

Above the horizon.  Circumpolar today
Alt: 32.78°   Az: 38.84°   Direction: North-East

Merak, also designated as β Ursae Majoris (beta Ursae Majoris), is a variable main-sequence star of spectral class A1 in the constellation of Ursa Major.

Merak visual magnitude is 2.37, making it the 79th brightest star in the sky. Because of its brightness, Merak 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 Merak - β Ursae Majoris (beta Ursae Majoris) star
DSS2 image of Merak. The red arrow shows the motion of Merak during the next 10000 years (13.67 arcmin in Right Ascension and 5.67 arcmin in declination);

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

11h 03m 20s
+56° 14’ 49”
16h 46m 29s
03h 49m 50s

J2000

11h 01m 50s
+56° 22’ 57”

Galactic Coordinates

149.17°
54.8°

Finder Chart

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Finder chart for Merak - β Ursae Majoris (beta Ursae Majoris).

Magnitude, Color, Spectral Class

2.37
Main-sequence

0.44
A1V
10382K

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

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

Distance, Radial Speed, Proper Motion

Merak is distant 79.38 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 12 kilometers per second.

24.35
79.38
-12 km/s
0.082 arcsec/y
0.034"/y

Alternative Designations

Merak
β Ursae Majoris
(beta Ursae Majoris)
48 Ursae Majoris
SAO27876
SAO27876

Visibility from Your Location

Merak - β Ursae Majoris (beta Ursae Majoris) is circumpolar and transits at 01:18 UTC (altitude: 85.2°)