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Show the direction and distance to this object on the Galactic Map.

Proper Names	Alkaid, Benetnash
Bayer Designation	Eta Ursae Majoris
Flamsteed Number	85 Ursae Majoris
HR (BSC)	5191
HD	120315
Constellation	Ursa Major
Right Ascension	13h 47m 32s
Declination	+49° 18' 48"
Distance	104 light years 32 parsecs
Magnitude	Apparent: +1.9 Absolute: -0.7
Spectral Class	B3V blue main sequence star
Optimum Visibility	April / May (Usually visible from northern latitudes)
Notes	Eta Ursae Majoris is a blue dwarf star, hotter and more massive than the Sun. While most of the stars that make up the Plough or Big Dipper formation belong to the same Ursa Major moving group, Alkaid is an outlier that happens to fall on the same line of sight from Earth.

Alkaid is easy to locate in the sky - it is the 'handle' of the Plough or Big Dipper, and also the tip of the tail of the Great Bear itself. In fact, this is a blue star of variable brightness, about 100 light years from Earth.

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