Star profile

66 Draco

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

What is 66 Draco

66 Draconis is an orange K3III giant 172 light-years away, with a radius close to nine times the Sun's and a surface at 4,470 K. It radiates twenty-eight times more energy than our star, in an advanced stage where its core hydrogen has run out. It dwells in the long body of Draco, the constellation that coils around the north celestial pole and never sets below the horizon at mid-northern latitudes.

Where it is and when to see it

66 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 September, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it never sets and culminates about 80° up.
From New York it never sets and culminates about 69° up.
From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 28° S.

It ranks no. 68 in brightness among the 122 stars of Draco in our catalogue. To find it, start from Eltanin, the brightest: it lies about 20° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 170 years ago.

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Astronomical data for 66 Draco

Constellation: Draco
Apparent magnitude: 5.40
Distance: 171.9 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 301.387° · Dec 61.995°
Catalogue: HIP 98962 · HD 191277

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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