Pherkad Minor
Designations
- Flamsteed: 11 UMi
- Hipparchos: HIP 74793
Data
- Constellation: Ursa Minor
- Apparent Magnitude: 5.02
- Right Ascension (J2000): 15h17m2.46s
- Declination (J2000): +71°49'17".5
- Colour Index (B-V): 1.37
- Distance: 411.99±4.68ly
Description
Despite appearing close-by in the night sky to its brighter companion Pherkad, the two stars are in fact not related to each other, with Pherkad being roughly 83ly further than Pherkad Minor.
Nomenclature
Pherkad Minor
The name Pherkad Minor is a combination of an Arabic root and a Latin descriptor. Pherkad is from Arabic farqad, 'young gazelle', singular of the ind-Arab asterism name al-Farqadān, 'the two young gazelles, for β & γ UMi. The name Pherkad originally only applied to γ UMi, but Giuseppe Piazzi extended the name to 11 UMi in his Palermo Catalogue (1801). He then gave 11 UMi the Latin epithet minor, 'littler, or lesser', with γ UMi being labelled major, 'larger, or greater'.