Best Dipper
Dubhe, designated Alpha Ursae Majoris, is a binary star system located approximately 124 light-years from the Sun in the constellation Ursa Major. The primary component is an orange giant of spectral type K0III, while the companion is a main-sequence star of similar type in a wide orbit. Dubhe is on...
Alioth, designated Epsilon Ursae Majoris, is the brightest star in the constellation Ursa Major and the brightest of the seven stars comprising the Big Dipper asterism. It is an A-type star located approximately 83 light-years from the Sun and is classified as a chemically peculiar star, exhibiting...
Alkaid, designated Eta Ursae Majoris, is a blue-white main-sequence star located at the tip of the handle of the Big Dipper in Ursa Major. It is approximately 104 light-years from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of around 1.86, making it one of the brightest stars in the asterism. Unlike the oth...
Alcor is a white main sequence star of spectral type A5V located approximately 81 light-years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major. With an apparent visual magnitude near 4.0, it forms a close naked-eye visual pair with Mizar in the handle of the Big Dipper. The two stars were historically use...
