Arabic star names / Alkaid
Alkaid
القائد
Alkaid comes from the Arabic القائد (al-Qāʾid), which means “the leader”. It is the 39th-brightest star in the sky, in Ursa Major.
- Brightness
- 1.85
- Colour
- blue-white
- Constellation
- Ursa Major
- Best seen
- May evenings
- Right ascension
- 13h 48m
- Declination
- +49° 19′
The name
Arabs saw the Big Dipper as a bier followed by three mourning daughters, Banāt Naʿsh. Alkaid leads the procession.
Where you can see it
It rises everywhere north of 41°S. From Riyadh it climbs to 65° above the horizon. From London it climbs to 88° above the horizon. From Sydney it climbs to 7° above the horizon.
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