Lambda Ursae Minoris [SEP] constellation
Lambda Ursae Minoris
Lambda Ursae Minoris (λ UMi, λ Ursae Minoris) is a star in the constellation Ursa Minor. It is an M-type red giant with an apparent magnitude of +6.38 and is approximately 880 light years from Earth.
Lambda Ursae Minoris is an asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star, a star that has exhausted its core hydrogen and helium and is now fusing material in shells outside its core. AGB stars are often unstable and pulsate, and Lambda Ursae Minoris is classified as a semiregular variable
, while his countryman Johann Elert Bode subsequently added iota to phi. Only lambda and pi remain in use, likely because of their proximity to the north celestial pole. Within the constellation's borders, there are 39 stars brighter than or equal to apparent magnitude 6.5.
Marking the Little Bear's tail, Polaris, or Alpha Ursae Minoris, is the brightest star in the constellation, varying between apparent magnitude 1.97 and 2.00 over a period of 3.97 days. Located around 432 light-years away from