Alula Borealis is an orange giant on a hind foot of the Great Bear, the northern star of the first of the Leaps of the Gazelle.
At a glance
| type | orange giant (class K) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 399 light-years (122 pc) |
| its light left it | 399 years ago |
| luminosity | 829 × the Sun |
| radius | 45.3 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 4,600 K |
| constellation | Ursa Major (Great Bear) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Alula Borealis
The facts describe an evolved giant, far wider and more luminous than the Sun, its cooler surface giving it an orange tint.
Alula comes from the Arabic for the first, as in the first leap: under the Bear lie three pairs of stars that Arabic tradition read as the hoofprints of a gazelle. Its partner, Alula Australis, is a much nearer double star, the first whose orbit was calculated.
What you see in the piece
In the piece Alula Borealis lies far behind its partner. Fly away from the Sun and the pair parts at once; they only line up from the Earth.
Questions
What kind of star is Alula Borealis?
An orange giant (class K), about 45.3 times the Sun’s radius and 829 times its luminosity, at 399 light-years (122 pc).