2 Ursae Minoris
Encyclopedia
2 Ursae Minoris is a 4.24m orange giant star
(spectral class
K2II-III) near the northern celestial pole
(RA
: , Dec
: ). Despite its Flamsteed designation
, the star is actually located in the constellation
Cepheus
. This is because of changes in constellation borders. Therefore the star is usually referred only by its catalog numbers such as HR 285
or HD 5848
.
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
(spectral class
Stellar classification
In astronomy, stellar classification is a classification of stars based on their spectral characteristics. The spectral class of a star is a designated class of a star describing the ionization of its chromosphere, what atomic excitations are most prominent in the light, giving an objective measure...
K2II-III) near the northern celestial pole
Celestial pole
The north and south celestial poles are the two imaginary points in the sky where the Earth's axis of rotation, indefinitely extended, intersects the imaginary rotating sphere of stars called the celestial sphere...
(RA
Right ascension
Right ascension is the astronomical term for one of the two coordinates of a point on the celestial sphere when using the equatorial coordinate system. The other coordinate is the declination.-Explanation:...
: , Dec
Declination
In astronomy, declination is one of the two coordinates of the equatorial coordinate system, the other being either right ascension or hour angle. Declination in astronomy is comparable to geographic latitude, but projected onto the celestial sphere. Declination is measured in degrees north and...
: ). Despite its Flamsteed designation
Flamsteed designation
Flamsteed designations for stars are similar to Bayer designations, except that they use numbers instead of Greek letters. Each star is assigned a number and the Latin genitive of the constellation it lies in...
, the star is actually located in the constellation
Constellation
In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....
Cepheus
Cepheus
Cepheus may refer to:In Greek Mythology:* Cepheus, King of Aethiopia, in Greek mythology* Cepheus, King of Tegea, the king of Tegea, Arcadia in Greek mythologyIn Astronomy:...
. This is because of changes in constellation borders. Therefore the star is usually referred only by its catalog numbers such as HR 285
Bright Star Catalogue
The Bright Star Catalogue, also known as the Yale Catalogue of Bright Stars or Yale Bright Star Catalogue, is a star catalogue that lists all stars of stellar magnitude 6.5 or brighter, which is roughly every star visible to the naked eye from Earth. It is currently available online in its 5th...
or HD 5848
Henry Draper Catalogue
The Henry Draper Catalogue is an astronomical star catalogue published between 1918 and 1924, giving spectroscopic classifications for 225,300 stars; it was later expanded by the Henry Draper Extension , published between 1925 and 1936, which gave classifications for 46,850 more stars, and by the...
.