When is the best time to observe Tania Borealis?

Tania Borealis is best observed from January through March, with peak visibility during February when it transits around midnight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Where is Tania Borealis located in the sky?

Tania Borealis lies in the constellation Ursa Major at right ascension 10h 17m and declination +42° 55′.

What telescope do I need to see Tania Borealis?

At magnitude 3.5, Tania Borealis is visible to the naked eye from dark skies, easy in any binoculars.

Tania Borealis — Star in Ursa Major

HIP 50372; Lambda Ursae Majoris; 33 Ursae Majoris

Magnitude 3.5^m Star Ursa Major (UMa) Visible

Star Map + List + Plan

About Tania Borealis

Description

Tania Borealis, Lambda Ursae Majoris, is a white main-sequence star of spectral type A1V located 137 light-years away. It is the northern member of the Second Leap of the Gazelle — a naked-eye pair with Tania Australis (Mu UMa). Tania Borealis has a mass of about 2.1 Suns, and a faint K-dwarf companion is suspected from speckle-interferometry observations. The star shines at magnitude 3.45.

Observing Tips

Tania Borealis and Tania Australis form a striking naked-eye pair just south of the Big Dipper's bowl, almost due west of Alkaid. The two stars, separated by only 1.5 degrees, make an unmistakable bright dyad. Binoculars show them sharing the same field; Tania Borealis appears pale white-blue next to yellower Tania Australis. Circumpolar from northern latitudes.

History

The name derives from the Arabic "al-qafzah al-thāniyah," meaning "the second leap" (of the gazelle). Borealis and Australis are Latin additions meaning "northern" and "southern." The three Leaps of the Gazelle — First (Talitha/Alkaphrah), Second (Tania Borealis/Australis), and Third (Alula Borealis/Australis) — were sequential pre-Islamic asterisms marking the bear's footprints.

Fun Facts

Together the three Leaps of the Gazelle form one of the most elegant asterisms in the sky — six stars in three symmetric pairs, each marking a step of the fleeing gazelle. The asterism is much older than the Greek Great Bear story and retains cultural currency in Arabic astronomy.