Eta Ursae Majoris

name=Eta Ursae Majoris }}

	Epoch	J2000
	Ra	13<sup>h</sup> 47<sup>m</sup> 324<sup>s</sup>
	Dec	+49&deg 18&prime 48&Prime
	Appmag V	185

	Class	B3 V
	B-v	-019
	U-b	-067

	Radial V	-11
	Prop Mo Ra	-12123
	Prop Mo Dec	-1556
	Parallax	3239
	P Error	074
	Dist Ly	101
	Dist Pc	309

	Mass	6
	Radius
	Luminosity	700
	Temperature	20,000
	Metal
	Rotation	~200 km/s

Eta Ursae Majoris (η UMa / η Ursae Majoris) is a Star in the Constellation Ursa Major . It also has the traditional names '''Alkaid''' (or '''Elkeid''') and '''Benetnash''' ('''Benetnasch''').

Alkaid is the most eastern (leftmost) star in the Big Dipper (Plough) Asterism . However, unlike most stars of the Big Dipper it is not a member of the Ursa Major Moving Group .

Alkaid has Apparent Magnitude +1.9, making it the 35th brightest star in the sky. It is a young bluish-white Main Sequence star of Spectral Class B3 V. At 20,000 Kelvin s it is one of the hotter stars visible with the naked eye.

The name derives from القائد البنات النعش, ''al-qāid al-banāt an-nac'' meaning "The leader of the daughters of the bier". The daughters of the bier, i.e. the mourning maidens, are the three stars of the handle of the Big Dipper, Alkaid, Mizar , and Alioth .

EXTERNAL LINK

Alkaid in Jim Kaler's ''Stars'' website

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Eta Ursae Majoris

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