Alkaid — Star in Ursa Major

Alkaid (also known as Benetnash) is a blue main-sequence star of spectral type B3V, located about 101 light-years from Earth. At magnitude 1.86, it is the third brightest star in Ursa Major and marks the tip of the Big Dipper's handle (or the tail of the Great Bear). With a luminosity about 594 times that of the Sun and a surface temperature of roughly 15,500 K, it is one of the hottest stars easily visible to the naked eye.

The end star of the Big Dipper's handle, Alkaid is easy to find from the northern hemisphere. It appears as a bright blue-white star. Follow the arc of the Dipper's handle past Alkaid to 'arc to Arcturus' — a famous navigation trick. Visible year-round from mid-northern latitudes, but best placed in the evening sky from March through August when the Big Dipper rides high overhead.

The name Alkaid derives from the Arabic 'al-qa'id,' meaning 'the leader' — specifically the leader of the mourners following a celestial funeral bier (the bowl of the Dipper being the bier). The alternate name Benetnash comes from Arabic 'banat na'sh,' meaning 'daughters of the bier.' Unlike the five inner stars of the Big Dipper, Alkaid is not a member of the Ursa Major Moving Group and will eventually cause the Dipper's shape to distort over thousands of years.