Merak is the proper name for the star β Ursae Majoris in the constellation of Ursa Major. It is more familiar to northern hemisphere observers as one of the "pointer stars" in the Big Dipper, and a line connecting it with nearby Dubhe extends to Polaris, the north star. It is also one of the five stars in the Big Dipper asterism that form a part of a loose open cluster called the Ursa Major Cluster , sharing the same area of space and not just the same patch of sky by our perspective.
Merak is fairly typical for a main sequence star of its type, although being slightly hotter and larger than our own Sun, it shines several times brighter than our home star. It is distinguished in the fact that evidence shows the star is surrounded by a cooling disk of dust, much like those discovered around Fomalhaut and most notably Vega. No planets have been discovered orbiting Merak, but the presence of the dust indicates they may exist or be in the process of forming.
The name is derived from the arabic Arabic maraqq "loins" (of the bear).
