The constellation of Draco, the Dragon // E. Slawik/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/M. Zamani
Click below to see an annotated image and read about the mythology associated with this Dragon, the 8th largest constellation in the sky!
Draco, which is Latin for "dragon," is one of the original 48 constellation set down by Greek astronomy Ptolemy.
In Greek mythology, it could be one of several dragons. In one myth, Draco was one of the Gigantes, who battled the Olympian gods for ten years before Athena killed it and tossed in into the sky. As it flew towards the sky, it twisted upon itself and froze in the cold before it could fix itself. That could be the origin of this 19th century drawing:
In another myth, Draco represents the dragon Ladon, who guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides. When Heracles killed Ladon as part of his trials, Hera transformed Ladon into this constellation. Other times, it is the monstrous son of Gaia, Typhon.
In Arabic astronomy, Draco is not a dragon. Instead it is the Mother Camels. Two hyenas are attacking a baby camel, which is protected by four female camels. The nomads who own the camels are camped nearby. This is the origin of some of the star names below!
The named stars, in order of brightness are:
Eltanin (γ Draconis) is the brightest star in Draco. It is an orange giant star about 154 light years away. Eltanin is drifting slowly towards the solar system, so in about 1.5 million years, it will be within 28 light years of Earth, making it the brightest star in the night sky. Its name comes from the Arabic at-tinnin meaning "the great serpent."
Athebyne (η Draconis) is a binary star system about 92 light years away composed of a yellow giant and a red dwarf star. The name comes from the Arabic al-dhiʼbayn meaning "the wolves."
Rastaban (β Draconis) is a binary star system about 380 light years away. The primary star is a yellow supergiant star. The name comes from the Arabic phrase ra's ath-thu'ban meaning "head of the serpent."
Altais (δ Draconis) is a solitary yellow giant star about 98 light years away. If you were standing on the dwarf planet Ceres in the Asteroid Belt, this star would be your north pole star! Its name comes from the Arabic word Al Tāis meaning "the goat."
Aldhibah (ζ Draconis) is another binary star system about 330 light years away. The primary star is a blue giant star. Just like Altais, if you were standing on Venus, Aldhibah would be the south pole star; on Jupiter, it is the north pole star. Its name comes from the Arabic word al-dhiʼb meaning "the wolf."
Edasich (ι Draconis) is a solitary orange giant star about 101 light years from Earth. Its name comes from the Arabic Al Ḍhiba' meaning "the male hyena." It has one confirmed planet orbiting it, about 16.4 times the mass of Jupiter, named Hypatia, after the Greek mathematician.
Thuban (α Draconis) is a binary star system of two blue-white giant star about 303 light years away. Between about 3900-1800 BC, Thuban was the northern pole star! Its name comes from the Arabic word ṯuʿbān meaning "large snake."
Grumium (ξ Draconis) is a binary star system about 112 light years away. The primary is an orange giant star. Its name comes from the Latin word Grunnum meaning "snout."
Giausar (λ Draconis) is a solitary red giant star about 333 light years from Earth. Its name comes from the Persian word jauzahr, a technical term for the nodes of the Moon's orbit.
Dziban (ψ¹ Draconis) is a triple star system about 44 light years away. It consists of several yellow-white giant stars. Its name comes from the Arabic word al-dhiʼbayn meaning "the wolves."
Alsafi (σ Draconis) is a solitary red dwarf star about 18 light years away. Its name comes from the Arabic word Athāfi, the name of the Bedouin nomads' open air kitchens.
Alrakis (μ Draconis) is a quadruple star system about 89 light years away. The brightest stars in the system are both yellow-white giant stars. The name comes from the Arabic al-rāqiṣ meaning "the trotting camel." And yes, Frank Herbert did use this star as inspiration for the Dune series.
