Star profile

Upsilon Draco

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

What is Upsilon Draco

Upsilon Draconis winds through Draco, that celestial serpent coiled around the north pole that never sets below the horizon for European observers. It is an orange K-type giant at three hundred and forty-four light-years, already in the late phase of its evolution. Its slow, persistent light marks one link in the long body of a dragon the ancients believed eternal.

Where it is and when to see it

Upsilon 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 November, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it never sets and culminates about 70° 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 19° S.

It ranks no. 26 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 340 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Upsilon Draco

Constellation: Draco
Apparent magnitude: 4.82
Distance: 344.1 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 283.599° · Dec 71.297°
Catalogue: HIP 92782 · HD 176524

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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