Stars Galaxies And Planets
Draco’s stars are not very bright. The head of the dragon consists of four stars in a trapezoid and located just north of Hercules. From there, the dragon’s body winds its way through the sky, ending between the Big Dipper and Little Dipper. From early to mid-October, a meteor shower known as the Draconids appears to radiate from Draco’s head.
Other stars in the constellation include Thuban , which forms the tail. Because Earth wobbles on its axis , Thuban was the pole star around 2600 B.C. when the ancient Egyptians were building the pyramids.
Draco consists of several double stars, including Eta Draconis and 20 Draconis.
The Cat’s Eye Nebula is also contained within the constellation.
The constellation encompasses several faint galaxies, including the Draco Dwarf Galaxy, one of the least luminous galaxies with a diameter of about 3,500 light years.
A handful of exoplanets have been found in Draco so far, such as:
Alternative Names And Meanings
- The Id of the star in the Yale Bright Star Catalogue is HR4927.
- HIP63340 is the reference name for the star in the Hipparcos Star Catalogue.
- The Id of the star in the Henry Draper catalogue is HD113049. The catalogue was started by the American doctor and has been expanded on over the years.
- The star is catalogued in the Tycho-2 star catalogue as TYC-4551-2415-1. The catalogue lists 2 millions stars and its homepage is E.S.A.
- BD number is the number that the star was filed under in the Durchmusterung or Bonner Durchmusterung, a star catalogue that was put together by the Bonn Observatory between 1859 to 1903. The star’s BD Number is BD+76 473.
This Sketch Is When These Constellations First Appear In The Eastern Horizon In Late Fall As Winter Progresses The Tables Begin To Turn As This Constellation Group Slowly Inches Westward Each Night Both Orion And His Horse Steadily Gain The Advantage The Woman Eventually Appears To Be Leaning Forward As If She Is Beginning To Take Flight By Winter These Constellations Move Farther And Farther Westward Each Night So That You Can See Them Move Completely From East To West Though The Night
WINTER CONSTELLATIONS-SEEN IN FALL: This sketch to the right is how this constellation group appears in the eastern sky in fall. This is the four primary constellations of the Winter Constellations. They can be seen in this position, in the late fall above the eastern horizon. The Woman of Revelation 12is commonly called Ursa Majoror The Big Dipper and appears in the north. Orion the Soldier is the at the bottom is to the south of the Woman. The The Dragon of Revelation Constellations mouth isThe Hyades Cluster, and the tip of his tail is Pleiades, and his Wave of Water is primarily the Auriga constellation. The Glorious Horse Constellation head is of Perseus Constellation and his rear end is Cassiopeia Constellation.
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Hip 63340 Colour And Temperature
Based on the star’s spectral type of K0III , HIP 63340’s colour and type is orange to red giant star. Based on the spectral type, we can deduce that the surface temperature of the star is in the order of between 3,500 and 5,000K based on the notes from Harvard University. To put this in context, the temperature of our Sun is about 5,778 Kelvin as said by .
Spindle Galaxy Messier 102 Ngc 5866
The Spindle Galaxy is a spiral or lenticular galaxy discovered in 1781 by either Pierre Méchain or Charles Messier and then independently discovered by William Herschel in 1788. It has an apparent magnitude of 10.7 and is about 50 million light years distant.
This is a unique view of the disk galaxy NGC 5866 tilted nearly edge-on to our line-of-sight. Hubbles sharp vision reveals a crisp dust lane dividing the galaxy into two halves. The image highlights the galaxys structure: a subtle, reddish bulge surrounding a bright nucleus, a blue disk of stars running parallel to the dust lane, and a transparent outer halo. NGC 5866 is a disk galaxy of type S0 . Viewed face on, it would look like a smooth, flat disk with little spiral structure. It remains in the spiral category because of the flatness of the main disk of stars as opposed to the more spherically rotund class of galaxies called ellipticals. Such S0 galaxies, with disks like spirals and large bulges like ellipticals, are called lenticular galaxies. Image: NASA and ESA
It is one of the brightest galaxies in the NGC 5866 group, which also contains NGC 5879 and NGC 5907, two spiral galaxies discovered by William Herschel.
The galaxy is notable for its extended disk of dust, seen exactly edge-on. The disk, which might contain a ring-like structure, is an unusual feature for a lenticular galaxy. The galaxy might also be a spiral galaxy, in which case the dust disk would not be unusual.
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See Draco The Dragon In The Night Sky This Week
ByJoe Raopublished 23 June 19
Draco the Dragon is well worth spotting this week, as it is particularly bright in the northern sky, winding around the Little Dipper.
The Chaldeans, Greeks and Romans all envisioned a dragon here, while Hindu mythology claims the creature is an alligator and the Persians saw a man-eating serpent.
Draco has been identified with a number of ancient Greek stories: A dragon guarded the entrance to the Hesperides, where the golden apples grew Hercules killed it.
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Another tale identifies the dragon as fighting on the side of the Titans, essentially a creature of darkness and primordial chaos, and companion of the ancient and formidable gods of nature. When she was fighting the Titans, Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war, fully arrayed in armor and carrying her magic shield, threw a dragon up into the sky after it attacked her. With all her strength, she swung the beast in a wide circle and he spun around and around, his body ultimately becoming curved and twisted until he struck the very top of the sky around which the stars revolved. And there he lies to this very day.
Hip 63340 Apparent And Absolute Magnitudes
HIP 63340 apparent magnitude is 6.00, this is a measure of the brightness of the star as seen from Earth. Apparent Magnitude is also known as Visual Magnitude. If you used the 1997 Parallax value, HIP 63340 absolute magnitude is 0.17 If you used the 2007 Parallax value, HIP 63340 absolute magnitude is -0.10.
Absolute Magnitude is the apparent magnitude of the star from a distance of 10 parsecs or 32.6 light years. This assumes that there is nothing in between the object and the viewer such as dust clouds. To really compare the brightness of the star, it is best to use Absolute rather than Apparent Magnitude.
Magnitude, whether it be apparent/visual or absolute magnitude is measured by a number, the smaller the number, the brighter the Star is. Our own Sun is the brightest star and therefore has the lowest of all magnitudes, -26.74. A faint star will have a high number.
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Facts Location And Map
Draco is the eighth largest constellation in the night sky, occupying an area of 1083 square degrees. It lies in the third quadrant of the northern hemisphere and can be seen at latitudes between +90° and -15°. The neighboring constellations are Boötes, Camelopardalis, Cepheus, Cygnus, Hercules, Lyra, Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor.
Draco 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.
Draco has nine stars with known planets and contains one Messier object, M102 . The brightest star in the constellation is Eltanin, Gamma Draconis. There is one meteor shower associated with the constellation the Draconids.
Draco contains 17 formally named stars. The star names approved by the International Astronomical Union are Aldhibah, Alrakis, Alruba, Alsafi, Altais, Athebyne, Dziban, Edasich, Eltanin, Fafnir, Funi, Giausar, Grumium, Rastaban, Taiyi, Thuban, and Tianyi.
Draco constellation map by IAU and Sky& Telescope magazine
Dragon’s Head A Lozenge Or Camels
Also like Hydra, the most conspicuous part of Draco is his head. Much of the Dragon’s body is hard to pick out, but his head is a distinctive, naked-eye asterism of four stars , that is interesting to examine with binoculars. Arabic nomadic tribes, however, did not see a dragon’s head, but rather referred to these stars as “The Protecting Mother Camels.”
This week, you’ll find these four stars high in the northern sky, almost directly overhead during the late evening hours, around 10 or 11 p.m. local daylight time.
Draco seems to be eyeing the brilliant blue-white star Vega, located about 15 degrees away. Recall that your clenched fist is equal to roughly 10 degrees when held at arm’s length Vega is placed roughly one and a half fists from Draco’s head.
Draco’s nose is marked by the bright second-magnitude star Eltanin, a name that may be derived from At-Tinnin, which means “the head of the great serpent” in Arabic. The 15th century Uzbek astronomer Ulugh Beg referred to it as Al Ras al Tinnin, “the head of the dragon.” Interestingly, the earliest Sumerians considered these stars to represent the dragon Tiamat, yet another name from which Eltanin may have been derived.
Once you have Eltanin in view, try defocusing your binoculars ever-so-slightly to better see the subtle orange tint of this star. Astronomers estimate that it is about 154 light-years away, and it’s a true giant, 48 times wider than our sun, 72% more massive, and 471 times more luminous.
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Draco Great Dragon Of The North
Tonight if you have a dark sky, make your acquaintance with the constellation Draco the Dragon, starting at nightfall. At mid-northern latitudes, Draco is a circumpolar constellation, meaning it is out all night long every night of the year. Northern Hemisphere summer evenings are the best time to look, because this is when the Dragons flashing eyes look down upon you from up high in the northern sky.
The chart at the top of this post showing Draco covers a lot more sky than our charts usually do. Thats because Draco is big! This serpentine star figure wanders in between the Big and Little Dippers, with its tail found between the bowl of the Big Dipper and the star Polaris.
I always notice the two stars in the Dragons head when looking at the bright star Vega in the constellation Lyra. If youre familiar with the Summer Triangle, draw an imaginary line from the star Altair through the star Vega to find the Dragons eyes glaring at you from high overhead on July and August evenings. These two stars are Rastaban and Eltanin lovely, romantic names for the Dragons stars.
Watch Draco tonight as it circles around the North Star, Polaris.
Another noteworthy star in Draco is Thuban, which is high in the sky in the evening at this time of year. Thuban is an interesting star because around 3000 B.C. Thuban used to be the Pole Star.
Can You See Draco From The Uk All Year
Yes! The dragon constellation is visible in the UK skies all year long. But just because it is visible all year doesn’t mean there isn’t a prime time to go looking. Experts recommend seeking out Draco in July, which also means you can take a summer stargazing camping trip to find the dragon.
Just remember to plan your search for Draco on a clear night and get away from as much light pollution as possible. These things will improve your view of the Draco constellation.
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Draco Constellation: The Ultimate Guide
Object name: Draco ConstellationDistance from earth: The average distance is 168 light-yearsArea: 1083 sq. deg.Brightest star: Eltanin Visible at: Latitudes between +90° and 15°Best viewed: During the month of July 9.00pm
The Draco constellation is the 8th largest in the sky. It is also known as the Dragon. It is an ancient constellation that dates back to Greek times and is associated with a mythical dragon, Ladon, who guarded the Golden Apple Tree in the Garden of the Hesperides.
Draco can be found in the sky in a twisted shape between the two bears, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. Draco is an exciting constellation to explore, offering the spectacular Tadpole Galaxy.
Read on to learn more about Draco the dragon story and the Draco constellation.
History And Mythology Of The Draco Constellation
Draco was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. While it is associated with several myths, it is most frequently associated with the 12 labours of Heracles. In the myth, Draco represents Ladon, the dragon that guarded the golden apples in the gardens of the Hesperides.
The apple tree was a wedding present to Hera when she married Zeus, and she planted it in her garden. She tasked Atlas daughters, the Hesperides, with guarding it, and placed the dragon Ladon around the tree so that the Hesperides would not pick any apples from it.
As part of his 12 labours, Heracles was asked to steal some golden apples from the tree. He killed Landon while doing so, so Hera placed its image in the sky among the constellations.
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Looking At The Dragon Constellation
To see the dragon in the sky, you must first locate the constellation on a clear night. Help in achieving this can be found further down our guide. Once you have found the constellation, imaginary lines need to be drawn between each star in a certain way. This will give you an outline of the dragons form. However, this does not mean it will look like a dragon. To see the dragon that our ancestors saw, you will need to use some imagination to fill in the details. It also helps if you have an idea of what to look for. That is why we have provided an image of the Draco constellation below.
Location Of Draco In The Sky
The Draco constellation covers 1083 square degrees of the Northern Hemisphere. Because of its huge size, it is in the top 10 largest star constellations. It sits in the third quadrant and is visible at latitudes between +90 and -15 degrees. This means you can see the Draco constellation from the UK.
Other constellations close to the dragon constellation are Cepheus, Hercules, Boötes, Ursa Major and Minor, Lyra and Camelopardalis. If you already know where any of these constellations are located, it will help you find Draco on your next stargazing trip.
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When Is Draco Constellation Visible
As a home stargazer, you may ask when is Draco visible? Here is one of the fascinating Draco constellation facts the Dragon is only fully visible in the northern hemisphere!
In the southern hemisphere, you will only see a small part of the dragon, very low on the horizon. In the northern regions the constellation Draco never sets below the horizon, so you can see it all year round.
From January to March the dragon first appears low on the horizon in a northerly direction at about 6pm. This is a great time to take the kids out for some amazing stargazing. In April, May, and June, Draco appears in a more north-easterly position at about 9pm. At 2am, he is directly overhead and then sinks down towards the northwest horizon.
In July, August, and September, the constellation is visible directly overhead at about 10pm. From October to December, drako the dragon appears high in the sky in the northwest at about 6pm and moves overhead at about midnight. A great time to plan a romantic midnight feast and experience some dragon magic.
In the southern hemisphere, the dragon constellations are only partly visible in the months of July, August, and September. Look very low on the northern horizon at around 7pm. You may spot a part of the twisted body before he vanishes at midnight.
Draco The Dragon Constellation
From inspiring character names at Hogwarts to guarding golden apples, there are so many things to learn about the Draco constellation. You may already know it as the dragon constellation, but anything you dont already we will have covered in this comprehensive constellation guide.
Get your scrolling finger at the ready and prepare to unearth Draco mythology, constellation facts about Dracos stars and when to see Draco from the UK. Lets go!
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Meteor Showers In Draco
Meteor showers occur when Earth crosses the orbital path of a comet. Dust and debris from the remnants of the comet enter the Earths atmosphere and burn up. This creates a spectacular show, often known as shooting stars.
The Draconids
The meteor shower occurs between 6 October and 10 October with a peak on 8 October. This is a spectacular shower to observe in the northern hemisphere a huge dragon spitting out fireballs!
In the southern hemisphere, Draco the constellation is difficult to see, as it barely rises above the horizon, so your chance of spotting shooting stars is very low. In the northern regions, expect to see about 5 meteors per hour in the early evening, traveling at speeds of 21km/s.
The comet linked to the Draconids is the Giacobini-Zinner comet. In years where the Earth passes closest to the debris of the comet, thousands of meteors can be seen. The Draconid meteor shower produced amazing displays in 1933 and 1946, and observers saw over 600 meteors per hour in 2011 .
The radiant of the shower is the point from where it originates. The Draconids appear to radiate outwards from the fiery mouth of the Dragon. The two brightest stars in Draco, Eltanin, and Rastaban are the eyes of the dragon and are close to the radiant point of the Draconids.
The February eta Draconids
This is a minor shower that occurs between 3 February and 5 February, with the peak on 4 February. Expect to see 2 meteors per hour traveling at speeds of 35km/s .