Tania Borealis is a white star on a hind foot of the Great Bear, the northern star of the second of the Leaps of the Gazelle.
At a glance
| type | white star (class A) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 138 light-years (42.2 pc) |
| its light left it | 138 years ago |
| luminosity | 74 × the Sun |
| radius | 3.55 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 8,990 K |
| constellation | Ursa Major (Great Bear) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Tania Borealis
The facts describe a white star, larger and more luminous than the Sun, at about the end of its hydrogen-burning life.
Its name comes from the Arabic for the second, as in the second leap, with the Latin borealis, northern. With Tania Australis it is one of three pairs of stars beneath the Bear that Arabic tradition read as the hoofprints of a leaping gazelle.
What you see in the piece
In the piece Tania Borealis lies much nearer than its partner; leave the Earth and the pair separates, revealing a chance alignment.
Questions
Are the two Tanias a real pair?
No. Tania Borealis is 138 light-years (42.2 pc) away and Tania Australis lies further still; they only look close together from the Earth.