Star
The brighter of the two pointer stars of the Big Dipper, an orange giant whose line with Merak leads the eye to Polaris.
| Type | Star |
|---|---|
| Distance from Earth | 123 ly |
| Diameter | 37,560,000 km |
| Mass | 7.36 × 10^30 kg |
| Temperature | 4,537°C |
| Apparent magnitude | 1.79 |
| Redshift | 0 |
| Discovered | 150 |
At 37,560,000 km across, Dubhe is 27 times the diameter of the Sun.
Its mass is 3.7 times the mass of the Sun.
The light reaching us from Dubhe tonight left it around 123 years ago.
Its surface sits at 4,810 K, cooler than the Sun at 5,772 K, which is what sets its colour.
It has been on record since the year 150.
Play today's Cosmodle