Shampagen's Astronomy
Star Cultures • Modern Constellations • Stars • Asterisms • Deep Sky Objects

Alula Borealis

Designations

  • Bayer: ν UMa
  • Flamsteed: 54 UMa
  • Hipparchos: HIP 55219

Data

  • Constellation: Ursa Major
  • Apparent Magnitude: 3.49
  • Right Ascension (J2000): 11h18m27.55s
  • Declination (J2000): +33°05'55".8
  • Colour Index (B-V): 1.40
  • Distance: 408.72±24.58ly

Nomenclature

Alula Borealis

The indigenous Arabian title for the asterism composed of ν & ξ UMa was al-Qafzat al-Ūlā, 'the first leap', the pair comprising one of three in the greater asterism al-Qafazāt, 'the leaps [of the gazelle]'. The Arabic name was abbreviated to Alula and the Latin epithet borealis was added to indicate μ UMa is the 'northerly' star of al-Qafzat al-Ūlā.

Sources

  • IAU WSGN. IAU-Catalog of Star Names (CSN). link.
  • Stellarium Contributors. Stellarium Astronomy Software. link.
  • Kunitszch, Paul. Smart, Tim. A Dictionary of Modern Star Names (2006), pp. 57. link.
  • Lafitte, Roland. Catalogue of Star Names of the Arabian Traditional Sky. link.
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