Star profile
Thuban
Alpha Draco · Draco
What is Thuban
Thuban was the pole star of the ancient Egyptians. Some five thousand years ago, when the pyramids of Giza were rising from the desert, it marked the celestial north — and the inner corridors of the Great Pyramid seem to point exactly toward it. A white A-class star about 303 light-years away, set in the sinuous body of Draco, its light — modest to the modern eye — has been crossing space since Bach was composing cantatas in Leipzig.
Where it is and when to see it
Thuban lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is February: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.
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The signature wall
Stelvia's sky works like a signature wall: anyone can leave their name and a message on a real star, and that signature goes up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.
A signature without a lock can be replaced by someone else's. The lock makes the signature permanent and lets you choose a symbolic name for the star, always shown next to the star's catalogue identifier. How the lock works
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A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.
Astronomical data for Thuban
- Constellation
- Draco
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.67
- Distance
- 303.2 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 211.097° · Dec 64.376°
- Catalogue
- HIP 68756 · HD 123299
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Draco
Draco has 122 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- EltaninGamma Draco2.24
- AthebyneEta Draco2.73
- RastabanBeta Draco2.79
- AldhibahZeta Draco3.17
- EdasichIota Draco3.29
- Chi Draco3.55
- GrumiumXi Draco3.73
- GiausarLambda Draco3.82