Mizar
Second-magnitude star in the handle of the Big Dipper asterism in the constellation of Ursa Major.
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Double star
Pair of stars that appear close to each other as viewed from Earth, especially with the aid of optical telescopes.
Pair of stars that appear close to each other as viewed from Earth, especially with the aid of optical telescopes.
Mizar, in Ursa Major, was observed to be double by Benedetto Castelli and Galileo.
Binary star
System of two stars that are gravitationally bound to and in orbit around each other.
System of two stars that are gravitationally bound to and in orbit around each other.
Early examples include Mizar and Acrux.
Ursa Major
Constellation in the northern sky, whose associated mythology likely dates back into prehistory.
Constellation in the northern sky, whose associated mythology likely dates back into prehistory.
ζ Ursae Majoris, Mizar, the second star in from the end of the handle of the Big Dipper, and the constellation's fourth-brightest star. Mizar, which means "girdle," forms a famous double star, with its optical companion Alcor (80 Ursae Majoris), the two of which were termed the "horse and rider" by the Arabs.
Big Dipper
Large asterism consisting of seven bright stars of the constellation Ursa Major; six of them are of second magnitude and one, Megrez (δ), of third magnitude.
Large asterism consisting of seven bright stars of the constellation Ursa Major; six of them are of second magnitude and one, Megrez (δ), of third magnitude.
In the same line of sight as Mizar, but about one light-year beyond it, is the star Alcor (80 UMa).
Star system
Small number of stars that orbit each other, bound by gravitational attraction.
Small number of stars that orbit each other, bound by gravitational attraction.
Mizar is often said to have been the first binary star discovered when it was observed in 1650 by Giovanni Battista Riccioli, p. 1 but it was probably observed earlier, by Benedetto Castelli and Galileo. Later, spectroscopy of its components Mizar A and B revealed that they are both binary stars themselves.
Giovanni Battista Riccioli
Italian astronomer and a Catholic priest in the Jesuit order.
Italian astronomer and a Catholic priest in the Jesuit order.
He is often credited with being one of the first to telescopically observe the star Mizar and note that it was a double star; however, Castelli and Galileo observed it much earlier.
Mizar and Alcor
Mizar and Alcor are two stars forming a naked eye double in the handle of the Big Dipper (or Plough) asterism in the constellation of Ursa Major.
Mizar and Alcor are two stars forming a naked eye double in the handle of the Big Dipper (or Plough) asterism in the constellation of Ursa Major.
Mizar is the second star from the end of the Big Dipper's handle, and Alcor its fainter companion.
Galileo Galilei
Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath, from the city of Pisa, then part of the Duchy of Florence.
Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath, from the city of Pisa, then part of the Duchy of Florence.
He observed the double star Mizar in Ursa Major in 1617.
Alcor (star)
Binary star system in the constellation of Ursa Major.
Binary star system in the constellation of Ursa Major.
It is the fainter companion of Mizar, the two stars forming a naked eye double in the handle of the Big Dipper (or Plough) asterism in Ursa Major.
Sanxing (deities)
The Sanxing are the gods of the three stars or constellations considered essential in Chinese astrology and mythology: Jupiter, Ursa Major, and Sirius.
The Sanxing are the gods of the three stars or constellations considered essential in Chinese astrology and mythology: Jupiter, Ursa Major, and Sirius.
The star of Lu (祿), Luxing 祿星, is Mizar (ζ Ursa Majoris), or, in traditional Chinese astronomy, the sixth star in the Wenchang cluster, and like the Fu star came to be personified.