How many stars ursa major

The star is only recognised as being Epsilon Ursae Majoris rather than having Alpha status. The dim star has an apparent magnitude of 6.

The dimmest star that a person is able to see with their naked eye is 6. Ref: University of Michigan. The star is a zombie star , this means it will explode in a supernova and then come as back as normal. Its supernova explosions are too far away to have any effect on us here on Earth. M82 x2 is a pulsar and one that breaks the Eddington Limit.

The Eddington Limit is a theoretical limit on how bright a star should be for its given mass. It is named after Sir Arthur Eddington who devised the limit in the first part of the twentieth century. The more norrth you are, the more likely you are to get a good glimpse of this object.

In London, you will be able to see this constellation all year round. The worst time is October and November when it is ats lowest in the sky. If you can stay up late, it is best to see about 11pm in May. May to September provide for a good view about 10 p. The constellation is predominantly a northern hemisphere constellation so if you don't get to see it, you know why. You will not be able to see this constellation if you are in Sydney.

You would need to move a little more north. Phecda, designated as Gamma Ursae Majoris, is an Ae star, which is surrounded by an envelope of gas that is adding emission lines to its spectrum. Phecda is the sixth brightest star in Ursa Major, having an apparent magnitude of 2.

The star is located at around It is 65 times brighter than our Sun. It is the 11 th brightest star in Ursa Major. Megrez is a hydrogen-fusing dwarf still on the main sequence, located at around Megrez is a young star, having an estimated age of million years. Mizar, also designated as Zeta Ursae Majoris, is a quadruple star system with a combined magnitude of 2.

It is located at around Mizar is the fourth brightest star in Ursa Major. Mizar is Alkaid , designated as Eta Ursae Majoris, is the third brightest star in Ursa Major, and also the 38 th brightest star in the night sky, sharing the title with Sargas. Alkaid is a blue main-sequence star located at around It was once one of the 15 Behenian Fixed Stars — a group of stars used in medieval times in magic rituals.

Its fast rotation results in its equatorial radius being bigger than its radius at the poles, leading to temperature variations. Some other stars which appear to share this trait, are Vega or Achernar. The constellation of Ursa Major hosts several bright galaxies. Apart from the aforementioned Messier objects, here are some more interesting deep-sky objects in Ursa Major.

NGC is a barred lenticular galaxy situated at around 24 million light-years away from us. The apparent magnitude of NGC is NGC contains a low-ionization nuclear emission-line region LINER , a type of region that is characterized by spectral line emission from weakly ionized atoms. NGC is a lenticular galaxy situated at around 60 million light-years away from us.

NGC has an apparent magnitude of NGC was discovered in by astronomer William Herschel. NGC hosts two nested stellar bars — the rotational frequency of the secondary bar is higher than that of the primary one.

NGC is a barred spiral galaxy situated at around 50 million light-years away from us. It has an apparent magnitude of It is speculated that the bubble is formed by particles streaming at high-speeds, which were in turn caused by a large burst of star formation.

The current bubble is believed to be one million years old, and some theorize that there is an ongoing cycle of forming bubbles, with a new bubble forming once every 10 million years or so.

NGC is a grand design spiral galaxy — a starburst galaxy that may have collided with one of its satellite galaxies, around million years ago, that triggered widespread star formation. NGC is located at around 46 million light-years away from us, having an apparent magnitude of It is estimated that NGC is around 22, light-years wide.

Its ring clusters have been undergoing starburst activity for at least 40 million years. NGC is an edge-on barred spiral galaxy located at around 55 million light-years away from us. Recent observations of this galaxy have revealed a looping tidal stream of stars extending over This structure is thought to be the remnants of a smaller galaxy that was torn apart by tidal forces as it collided with NGC This galaxy is a member of the Ursa Major Cluster — a spiral-rich galaxy cluster of the Virgo Supercluster.

It was used mainly by sailors as its main star; Polaris indicates the north as it is the nearest bright star to the pole. The North Star can also be used to find your latitude on Earth : if you are near the equator, Polaris will be near the horizon, but if you are at the North Pole, the star will be right above you.

The constellation of Ursa Major is placed in the second quadrant of the northern hemisphere, and it is visible for most of the year everywhere around the Globe. Keep reading for more interesting facts perfect for kids. The constellation of Ursa Major is often associated with the legend of Callisto, a greek nymph.

Ursa Major is the third largest constellation in the sky, covering up to 3. Its brightest star is Alioth, with a magnitude of 1,77, and it is the 31 st most luminous star in the night sky. Ursa Major is visible throughout the year in the northern hemisphere. Seven of its stars form the Big Dipper asterism, an essential tool used in navigation. The stars Dubhe and Merak are used to find the North Star, as they point to its direction. Two meteor showers occur every year, and they appear from the direction of Ursa Major.

These meteor showers are known as the Ursa Majorids and the Leonids-Ursids. The constellation of Ursa Major never sets below the horizon. The constellation of Ursa Major is depicted on the flag of Alaska. There are seven Messier objects in this constellation, namely the binary star Messier 40, many galaxies such as Messier 81, 82, , , , and the famous nebula known as Messier The second brightest star is Dubhe, a blue-white subgiant star with a magnitude of 1. It is located about light years away.

Alkaid is the third brightest star with a magnitude of 1. It is a blue subgiant star that lies some light years from our solar system. Ursa Major contains seven Messier objects, including a double star, a planetary nebula, an irregular galaxy, and four spiral galaxies.

It is extremely bright, making it a popular target for amateur astronomers with small telescopes. M82, the Cigar Galaxy, is an edge-on starburst galaxy shaped like a cigar.

M97, the Owl nebula, is a planetary nebula with two dark patches that resemble the eyes of an owl. M, the Pinwheel Galaxy, is a spectacular face-on spiral galaxy with bright spiral arms and dark dust lanes.