Star profile

76 Draco

Northern polar star

3D likeness based on its real data · class A · ~8,500 K

What is 76 Draco

76 Draconis glows some 353 light-years away, a white A-type star inscribed in the spirals of the celestial Dragon, very close to the north celestial pole. Because of its latitude it never sets for European observers: it wheels in a circle around Polaris night after night. Its crystalline light set out around the seventeenth century, while Kepler was formulating the laws that govern the planets' dance, and has been travelling to our telescopes ever since.

Where it is and when to see it

76 Draco lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is December, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it never sets and culminates about 59° up.
From New York it never sets and culminates about 48° up.
From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 7° S.

It ranks no. 97 in brightness among the 122 stars of Draco in our catalogue. To find it, start from Eltanin, the brightest: it lies about 33° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 350 years ago.

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Astronomical data for 76 Draco

Constellation: Draco
Apparent magnitude: 5.75
Distance: 352.6 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 310.646° · Dec 82.531°
Catalogue: HIP 102208 · HD 199095

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Other stars in Draco

Draco has 122 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 122 stars in Draco