Star profile

Eltanin

Gamma Draco · Draco

3D likeness based on its real data · class K · ~4,200 K

What is Eltanin

Eltanin is the head of Draco the Dragon, an orange K-type giant resting 154 light-years away. Owing to Earth's slow axial drift, in some twenty thousand years it will once again become the pole star of the northern hemisphere, a role it already played in Egyptian prehistory. James Bradley discovered the aberration of light in 1725 precisely while attempting to measure its parallax from London, a finding that confirmed for the first time Earth's motion around the Sun.

Where it is and when to see it

Eltanin 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 90° up.
From New York it never sets and culminates about 79° up.
From Sydney it culminates about 5° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 39° S.

It is the brightest of the 122 stars of Draco in our catalogue, which makes it the best starting point for finding your way around the constellation.

The light you see today left it about 150 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Eltanin

Constellation: Draco
Apparent magnitude: 2.24
Distance: 154.3 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 269.152° · Dec 51.489°
Catalogue: HIP 87833 · HD 164058

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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