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The star’s traditional name, Eltanin (or Etamin), comes from the Arabic At-Tinnin‎, which means “the great serpent.”Įltanin is pretty easy to find in the sky. It has a companion with a visual magnitude of 13.4, likely a red dwarf that may be a physical companion, not just an optical one.

It is 471 times more luminous than the Sun and has 72 percent more mass. Gamma Draconis is an evolved giant, belonging to the spectral class K5 III. It is sometimes known as the Zenith Star because it lies close to the zenith point directly overhead in London.

It has an apparent magnitude of 2.3617 and is 154.3 light years distant from the solar system. Gamma Draconis is the brightest star in Draco. Major stars in Draco Eltanin – γ Draconis (Gamma Draconis) The Titan met his end at the hands of the goddess Minerva and was thrown into the sky, where it froze around the North Pole. In Roman mythology, Draco was one of the Giant Titans who warred with the Olympian gods for ten years. Draco is usually depicted coiled around the North Pole, with one foot of Heracles on its head. Saddened by the dragon’s passing, Hera placed its image in the sky among the constellations. He defeated Ladon with his poisoned arrows and took the apples. In others, he was the offspring of two sea deities, Ceto and Phorcys, and there is no mention of the number of heads he had.Īs part of his 12 labours, Heracles was asked to steal some golden apples from the tree. In some versions of the myth, Ladon had a hundred heads and was the child of the monster Typhon and Echidna, who was half woman and half serpent. She also placed the dragon Ladon around the tree so that the Hesperides would not pick any apples from it. She planted the tree in her garden on Mount Atlas and tasked Atlas’ daughters, the Hesperides, with guarding it. The golden apple tree was a wedding present to Hera when she married Zeus. In the myth, Draco represents Ladon, the dragon that guarded the golden apples in the gardens of the Hesperides. The constellation Draco is associated with several myths, most frequently with the one about the 12 labours of Heracles, represented by the neighbouring constellation Hercules. The star names approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) are Aldhibah, Alrakis, Alruba, Alsafi, Altais, Athebyne, Dziban, Edasich, Eltanin, Fafnir, Funi, Giausar, Grumium, Rastaban, Taiyi, Thuban, and Tianyi.ĭraco constellation map by IAU and Sky&Telescope magazine Myth There is one meteor shower associated with the constellation the Draconids.ĭraco contains 17 formally named stars. The brightest star in the constellation is Eltanin, Gamma Draconis. The three-letter abbreviation, adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1922, is Dra.ĭraco belongs to the Ursa Major family of constellations, along with Coma Berenices, Boötes, Camelopardalis, Canes Venatici, Corona Borealis, Leo Minor, Lynx, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.ĭraco has nine stars with known planets and contains one Messier object, M102 (NGC 5866). The genitive form of Draco, used in star names, is Draconis (pronunciation: /drəˈkoʊnɪs/). In English, the constellation is known as the Dragon. The constellation name Draco is pronounced /ˈdreɪkoʊ/. The neighboring constellations are Boötes, Camelopardalis, Cepheus, Cygnus, Hercules, Lyra, Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor. It lies in the third quadrant of the northern hemisphere (NQ3) and can be seen at latitudes between +90° and -15°. Facts, location and mapĭraco is the eighth largest constellation in the night sky, occupying an area of 1083 square degrees. These include the Cat’s Eye Nebula (NGC 6543), the Spindle Galaxy (Messier 102, NGC 5866), and the Tadpole Galaxy.

It is a circumpolar constellation it never sets below the horizon for many observers in the northern hemisphere.ĭraco contains several famous deep sky objects. It was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. The name Draco means “the dragon” in Latin.ĭraco is one of the Greek constellations. Located in the northern celestial hemisphere, the constellation represents Ladon, the dragon that guarded the gardens of the Hesperides in Greek mythology. Draco is one of the largest constellations in the sky.