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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
SunriseRise: 6:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:06  
SunsetSet: 18:09
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All Constellations » Ursa Major » 

ρ Ursae Majoris (rho Ursae Majoris)

Altitude: 30.2°   Azimuth: 9.3°   Direction: North

ρ Ursae Majoris is a variable giant star in the constellation of Ursa Major.

ρ Ursae Majoris visual magnitude is 4.76. Because of its moderate brightness, ρ Ursae Majoris should be easily visible from locations with dark skies, while it can be barely visible, or not visible at all, from skies affected by light pollution.

The proper motion of ρ Ursae Majoris is -0.021 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and 0.019 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of ρ Ursae Majoris (rho Ursae Majoris) star
DSS2 image of ρ Ursae Majoris. The red arrow shows the motion of ρ Ursae Majoris during the next 10000 years (-3.50 arcmin in Right Ascension and 3.17 arcmin in declination);

Key facts about ρ Ursae Majoris

4.76
Giant

ρ Ursae Majoris (rho Ursae Majoris) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 30.2°
Azimuth: 9.3°
Direction: North

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of ρ Ursae Majoris

ρ Ursae Majoris 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 ρ Ursae Majoris are provided in the following table:

09h 02m 32s
+67° 37’ 46”
146.63°
37.23°
Ursa Major

The simplified sky map below shows the position of ρ Ursae Majoris in the sky:

Finder chart ρ Ursae Majoris (rho Ursae Majoris) star
Simplified finder chart for ρ Ursae Majoris (rho Ursae Majoris).

Visibility of ρ Ursae Majoris from your location

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

ρ Ursae Majoris (rho Ursae Majoris) is circumpolar and transits at 21:10 UTC (altitude: 73.9°)

Distance of ρ Ursae Majoris from the Sun and relative movement

ρ Ursae Majoris is distant 287.22 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 5 kilometers per second.

88.11 pc
287.22 ly
5 km/s
-0.021 arcsec/year
0.019 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of ρ Ursae Majoris

ρ Ursae Majoris belongs to spectral class M3 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a giant star.

0.03
M3III
3749K

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

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

Alternative designations of ρ Ursae Majoris

ρ Ursae Majoris
(rho Ursae Majoris)
8 Ursae Majoris
SAO14742
SAO14742