Star profile
16 Draco
Hot blue starWhat is 16 Draco
16 Draconis is a hot blue B-type star 427 light-years away, coiled into the body of the Dragon —a vast constellation winding between the two Bears. Its bluish surface burns at temperatures far above the Sun's, the mark of a young star with a short life by stellar standards. The light arriving now left around 1599, before Galileo had pointed a telescope at the sky.
Where it is and when to see it
16 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 May, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never sets and culminates about 89° up.
- From New York it never sets and culminates about 78° up.
- From Sydney it culminates about 3° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 37° S.
It ranks no. 76 in brightness among the 122 stars of Draco in our catalogue. To find it, start from Eltanin, the brightest: it lies about 12° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 430 years ago.
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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 16 Draco
- Constellation
- Draco
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.53
- Distance
- 427.0 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 249.048° · Dec 52.900°
- Catalogue
- HIP 81290 · HD 150100
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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
- HIP 726645.48
- HIP 925495.51
- 49 Draco5.51
- HIP 841835.54
- HIP 1002615.59