
Star profile
Epsilon Draco
What is Epsilon Draco
Epsilon Draconis winds along one of the coils of Draco, that long constellation that loops around the north celestial pole and never sets for northern observers. It is a yellow G-type giant some 148 light-years away, a double system whose components can be split in a modest telescope. Its golden light marks, with its neighbors, the neck of the mythical monster that once guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides.
Where it is and when to see it
Epsilon 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 October, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never sets and culminates about 71° up.
- From New York it never sets and culminates about 60° up.
- From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 20° S.
It ranks no. 11 in brightness among the 122 stars of Draco in our catalogue. To find it, start from Eltanin, the brightest: it lies about 23° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 150 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 Epsilon Draco
- Constellation
- Draco
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.84
- Distance
- 148.0 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 297.043° · Dec 70.268°
- Catalogue
- HIP 97433 · HD 188119
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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
- ThubanAlpha Draco3.67
- GrumiumXi Draco3.73
- GiausarLambda Draco3.82
- Kappa Draco3.85
- Theta Draco4.01