Alioth: how to find it and when to see it
Alioth ranks 32nd of the 74 bright stars on our list, at magnitude 1.76, in the constellation Ursa Major.
You can see it from anywhere north of 34° S, and it's highest in the evening sky in May.
Alioth at a glance
- Constellation
- Ursa Major
- Magnitude
- 1.76
- Rank on our list
- 32 of 74
- Hemisphere
- Northern
- Right ascension
- 12 h 54 min
- Declination
- 56.0° north
- Visible from
- north of 34° S
- Never sets
- north of 34° N
- Best evening
- 20 May
Where Alioth is in the sky
Alioth sits 56.0° 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 12 h 54 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 Alioth
From the northern hemisphere
From 40° N, the latitude of New York, Madrid and Beijing, Alioth never sets: it circles the pole all night and climbs to 74° above the horizon in the north.
It's in the evening sky from January to October, and it's highest in the evening around 20 May, in spring.
From the southern hemisphere
From 34° S, the latitude of Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires, Alioth rises a little east of due north, climbs to 0° above the horizon in the north and sets a little west of due north.
It never climbs more than 0° above the horizon, so you need a clear, low view to the north to spot it.
How high Alioth 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 | 86° in the south | All year |
| 50° N | Never sets | 84° in the north | All year |
| 40° N | Never sets | 74° in the north | Jan to Oct |
| 30° N | Rises and sets | 64° in the north | Feb to Sept |
| 20° N | Rises and sets | 54° in the north | Feb to Aug |
| Equator | Rises and sets | 34° in the north | Mar to Jul |
| 20° S | Rises and sets | 14° in the north | May to Jun |
| 34° S | Rises and sets | 0° in the north | None |
| 45° S | Never rises | Below the horizon | None |
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 Alioth was above the horizon that night, it's on your map, and we print it on museum-grade paper.
Questions about Alioth
Alioth is in Ursa Major. It sits 56.0° north of the celestial equator, at a right ascension of 12 h 54 min.
Alioth is highest in the evening sky around 20 May. That's spring in the northern hemisphere and autumn in the southern hemisphere.
Yes, from anywhere north of 34° S. From 34° S, it climbs to 0° above the horizon in the north.
Alioth has a magnitude of 1.76, which ranks it 32nd of the 74 bright stars on our list. Sirius looks about 19 times brighter.