
Star profile
30 Draco
What is 30 Draco
30 Draconis is an A-type white star 217 light-years away, fitted into the curves of the Dragon coiled around the northern celestial pole. Its light, hotter and bluer than the Sun's, has travelled since Napoleonic times to settle tonight on our rooftops. It belongs to that generation of young suns still burning with the haste of youth.
Where it is and when to see it
30 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 June, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never sets and culminates about 89° up.
- From New York it never sets and culminates about 80° up.
- From Sydney it culminates about 5° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 39° S.
It ranks no. 42 in brightness among the 122 stars of Draco in our catalogue. To find it, start from Eltanin, the brightest: it lies about 1° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 220 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 30 Draco
- Constellation
- Draco
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.02
- Distance
- 217.0 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 267.268° · Dec 50.781°
- Catalogue
- HIP 87212 · HD 162579
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
- 36 Draco4.99
- 54 Draco5.00
- 4 Draco5.01
- 35 Draco5.02
- HIP 899815.02