page_title: Chi Ursae Majoris
section_title: Nomenclature
hierarchical_section_title: Chi Ursae Majoris / Nomenclature
caption_attribution_description: English: 4 minute exposure of spiral galaxy NGC 3877 and the magnitude 3.7 star Chi Ursae Majoris (χ UMa) as seen with a 12.5" telescope. NGC 3877 is about magnitude 12.
context_page_description: Chi Ursae Majoris, formally named Taiyangshou, is a star in the constellation of Ursa Major. It is approximately 246 light-years from the Sun.
context_section_description: χ Ursae Majoris (Latinised to Chi Ursae Majoris) is the star's Bayer designation.
  It bore the traditional name Tai Yang Show, "the Sun Governor", from Chinese astronomy. The name was possibly derived from the word 太陽守, Pinyin: Tàiyángshǒu, meaning Guard of the Sun, because this star is marking itself and standing alone in the Guard of the Sun asterism, Purple Forbidden enclosure (see : Chinese constellations). It also bore traditional names of Arabic origin:  Alkafzah, Alkaphrah, and El Koprah.
  In 2016, the IAU organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN approved the name Taiyangshou for this star on 30 June 2017 and it is now so included in the List of IAU-approved Star Names.
caption: Chi Ursae Majoris and NGC 3877
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