Kappa Ursae Majoris [SEP] constellation
Kappa Ursae Majoris
Kappa Ursae Majoris (κ Ursae Majoris, abbreviated Kappa UMa, κ UMa) is a binary star in the constellation of Ursa Major. With a combined apparent magnitude of +3.60, the system is approximately 358 light-years from Earth.
The two components are designated Kappa Ursae Majoris A (officially named Alkaphrah , a traditional name of the system) and B.
Nomenclature.
"κ Ursae Majoris" (Latinised to "Kappa Ursae Majoris") is the system's Bayer
organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN decided to attribute proper names to individual stars rather than entire multiple systems. It approved the name "Alkaphrah" for the component Kappa Ursae Majoris A on 5 September 2017 and it is now so included in the List of IAU-approved Star Names.
In Chinese, (), meaning "Three Steps", refers to an asterism consisting of Kappa Ursae Majoris, Iota Ursae Majoris, Lambda Ursae Majoris,