Astronomy Without a Telescope
- Alioth (stars.astro.illinois.edu)
ALIOTH (Epsilon Ursae Majoris). The graceful curve of handle of the Big Dipper (the Plough in Great Britain), among the most famed of celestial sights, represents the tail of Ursa Major, the Greater Bear. Third star in from the end, “Alioth” relates not to a bear, but to a “black horse,” the name corrupted from the original and misassigned to the naked-eye companion of Mizar, which took on the vaguely similar name “Alcor.”
- Alioth (Wikipedia)
Alioth /ˈæliɒθ/, also called Epsilon Ursae Majoris, is a star in the northern constellation of Ursa Major. The designation is Latinised from ε Ursae Majoris and abbreviated Epsilon UMa or ε UMa. Despite being designated “ε” (epsilon), it is the brightest star in the constellation and at magnitude 1.77 is the thirty-third brightest star in the sky.
