STAR OF THE MONTH

Alioth – a yo-yo star, chemically speaking

Alioth (Epsilon (ε) Ursae Majoris) is easy to locate as it’s one of the seven stars that form the famous Plough or Saucepan asterism. Imagining the pattern as a saucepan, mag. +1.8 Alioth is the first star in the handle away from the edge of the pan. Although in one of the more minor positions in the pattern, it may come as a surprise that Alioth is actually the brightest star in the Saucepan, albeit only beating Dubhe (Alpha (α) Ursae Majoris) by 0.3 magnitudes. ‘Alioth’ translates as ‘the sheep’s fat tail’. Alioth has a spectral type of A1III-IVp kB9, a long string of characters that needs some explanation. The ‘A1’ part indicates that it’s a star that appears white in colour. The ‘III–IV’ indicates that it’s regarded as being…

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BBC Sky at Night United Kingdom (Digital) - 1 Issue, April 2025

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