| Constellation | |
List of stars in Draco |
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| Abbreviation | Dra |
|---|---|
| Genitive | Draconis |
| Pronunciation | /ˈdreɪkoʊ/, genitive /drəˈkoʊnɨs/ |
| Symbolism | the Dragon |
| Right ascension | 17 h |
| Declination | +65° |
| Quadrant | NQ3 |
| Area | 1083 sq. deg. (8th) |
| Main stars | 14 |
| Bayer/Flamsteed stars |
76 |
| Stars with planets | 9 |
| Stars brighter than 3.00m | 3 |
| Stars within 10.00 pc (32.62 ly) | 7 |
| Brightest star | γ Dra (Eltanin) (2.24m) |
| Nearest star | Struve 2398 (11.52 ly, 3.53 pc) |
| Messier objects | 1 |
| Meteor showers | Draconids |
| Bordering constellations |
Boötes Hercules Lyra Cygnus Cepheus Ursa Minor Camelopardalis Ursa Major |
| Visible at latitudes between +90° and −15°. Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of July. |
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Draco is a constellation in the far northern sky. Its name is Latin for dragon. Draco is circumpolar (that is, never setting) for many observers in the northern hemisphere. It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations today.
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Eltanin (Gamma Draconis) is the brightest star in Draco, with an apparent magnitude of 2.24.
The constellation contains the star recently named Kepler-10 which has been confirmed to be orbited by Kepler-10b, the smallest ever rocky Earth-sized planet detected outside of our solar system.
The star Thuban (α Draconis) was the northern pole star around 2700 BC, during the time of the ancient Egyptians. Due to the effects of precession, it will once again be the pole star around the year 21000 AD.
One of the deep-sky objects in Draco is the Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543), a planetary nebula that is said to look like a blue disc. There are several faint galaxies in Draco, one of which is the lenticular galaxy NGC 5866, sometimes considered to be Messier Object 102. Another is the Draco Dwarf Galaxy, one of the least luminous galaxies with an absolute magnitude of -8.6 and a diameter of only about 3,500 light years, discovered by Albert G. Wilson of Lowell Observatory in 1954.
Dragons in Greek mythology that may have inspired the constellation's name include Ladon, the dragon who guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides; the dragon killed by Cadmus before founding the city of Thebes, Greece; and the dragon that guarded the Golden Fleece (occasionally revealed as the sleeping or nearly dead figure of Ladon) and was killed by Jason.
In Roman legend, Draco was a dragon killed by the goddess Minerva and tossed into the sky upon his defeat.
Early Christians originally of the Roman or Greek faith then depicted Draco as the serpent who tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
The Arabs did not interpret the constellation as a dragon, seeing instead an asterism called the Mother Camels.
In Chinese astronomy, the stars of Draco are located in two areas: the Purple Forbidden enclosure (紫微垣, Zǐ Wēi Yuán) and the Black Tortoise of the North (北方玄武, Běi Fāng Xuán Wǔ). A region at the curve of the Dragon's tail is called "Tien Choo" or "Heaven's Kitchen".
USS Draco (AK-79) was a United States Navy Crater class cargo ship named after the constellation.
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