Arabic star names / Dubhe
Dubhe
الدب
Dubhe comes from the Arabic الدب (al-Dubb), which means “the bear”. It is the 37th-brightest star in the sky, in Ursa Major.
- Brightness
- 1.81
- Colour
- orange
- Constellation
- Ursa Major
- Best seen
- April evenings
- Right ascension
- 11h 04m
- Declination
- +61° 45′
The name
From Ẓahr al-Dubb al-Akbar, 'the back of the Great Bear'. Dubhe and Merak point the way to the Pole Star.
Where you can see it
It rises everywhere north of 28°S. From Riyadh it climbs to 53° above the horizon. From London it climbs to 80° above the horizon. Never rises over Sydney.
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