Dubhe: how to find it and when to see it
Dubhe ranks 35th of the 74 bright stars on our list, at magnitude 1.81, in the constellation Ursa Major.
You can see it from anywhere north of 28° S, and it's highest in the evening sky in April.
Dubhe at a glance
- Constellation
- Ursa Major
- Magnitude
- 1.81
- Rank on our list
- 35 of 74
- Hemisphere
- Northern
- Right ascension
- 11 h 4 min
- Declination
- 61.8° north
- Visible from
- north of 28° S
- Never sets
- north of 28° N
- Best evening
- April 22
- Name from
- Arabic
Where Dubhe is in the sky
Dubhe sits 61.8° north of the celestial equator, the line in the sky directly above Earth's equator, so it's in the northern half of the sky. Its right ascension is 11 h 4 min.
Right ascension works like longitude on the sky. It's counted in hours, and about one hour of it turns past you each hour of the night.
When and where to see Dubhe
From the northern hemisphere
From 40° N, the latitude of New York, Madrid and Beijing, Dubhe never sets: it circles the pole all night and climbs to 68° above the horizon in the north.
It's in the evening sky all year, and it's highest in the evening around April 22, in spring.
From the southern hemisphere
From 34° S, the latitude of Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires, Dubhe never rises above the horizon. You need to be north of 28° S to see it.
How high Dubhe climbs from each latitude
The evening is about 9 pm local time, or 10 pm in summer time, and later when the sky is still too bright. A star counts as in the evening sky when it's at least 10° above the horizon.
| Latitude | Visibility | Highest point | Evening sky |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60° N | Never sets | 88° in the north | All year |
| 50° N | Never sets | 78° in the north | All year |
| 40° N | Never sets | 68° in the north | All year |
| 30° N | Never sets | 58° in the north | Dec to Aug |
| 20° N | Rises and sets | 48° in the north | Jan to Jul |
| Equator | Rises and sets | 28° in the north | Feb to Jun |
| 20° S | Rises and sets | 8° in the north | None |
| 34° S | Never rises | Below the horizon | None |
| 45° S | Never rises | Below the horizon | None |
What the name Dubhe means
Dubhe comes from the Arabic dubb, bear, from a phrase that means the back of the Great Bear.
Keep the sky of a night that matters
Our star maps show the stars above any place, at the minute you choose, with the constellation lines drawn in. If Dubhe was above the horizon that night, it's on your map, and we print it on museum-grade paper.
Questions about Dubhe
Dubhe is in Ursa Major. It sits 61.8° north of the celestial equator, at a right ascension of 11 h 4 min.
Dubhe is highest in the evening sky around April 22. That's spring in the northern hemisphere and autumn in the southern hemisphere.
Yes, from anywhere north of 28° S. From 34° S, it never rises, so you need to be further north.
Dubhe has a magnitude of 1.81, which ranks it 35th of the 74 bright stars on our list. Sirius looks about 20 times brighter.
Dubhe comes from the Arabic dubb, bear, from a phrase that means the back of the Great Bear.