Zeta Ursae Minoris
Zeta Ursae Minoris is a star in the constellation Ursa Minor. It is a white stellar class A-type main sequence star with an apparent magnitude of +4.28. It is approximately 380 light years from Earth.
Despite its classification as a main sequence dwarf star, Zeta UMi is 3.4 times the mass of the sun and its luminosity is about 200 solar luminosities. At a surface temperature of 8,700 kelvins, this star is actually on the verge of becoming a giant star. Zeta UMi may also be a variable of the Delta Scuti type.
In some Arabic star charts it is listed as أخفى الفرقدين ʼakhfā al-farqadayn, meaning "the dimmer of the two calves", and paired with η Ursae Minoris as ʼanwar al-farqadayn, "the brighter of the two calves". The names may originally refer to a pair of Ibexes, and are more properly applied to γ UMi and β UMi respectively, the brighter two stars in the rectangle of Ursa Minor.
