Star profile

Psi 2 Draco

3D likeness based on its real data · class F · ~6,500 K

What is Psi 2 Draco

Psi-2 Draconis is a yellow-white giant of 4.2 solar masses, 1,056 light-years away, in the body of the circumpolar Dragon. It carries a dead helium core and is crossing the transition toward the true red giant phase: the next chapter of its evolution will ignite carbon and oxygen fusion at its centre. It shines 448 times brighter than the Sun, a light that crossed a millennium to reach our eyes.

Where it is and when to see it

Psi 2 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 69° up.
From New York it never sets and culminates about 59° up.
From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 18° S.

It ranks no. 70 in brightness among the 122 stars of Draco in our catalogue. To find it, start from Eltanin, the brightest: it lies about 21° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 1,100 years ago.

Find it on the sky map

It opens in your browser. Free, no account, nothing to install.

Leave your signature on Psi 2 Draco

Your name and a message go up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.

Without a lock, someone else can replace your signature. How the lock works

We'll ask for an email to confirm it's you, no password.

Write my signature

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 Psi 2 Draco

Constellation: Draco
Apparent magnitude: 5.43
Distance: 1055.7 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 268.796° · Dec 72.005°
Catalogue: HIP 87728 · HD 164613

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.

See all 122 stars in Draco