Draco (constellation)

Draco is a constellation in the far northern sky. Its name is Latin for dragon. People have seen it as a pattern of stars for thousands of years. Draco was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century Greek astronomer Ptolemy. It is still one of the 88 modern constellations today. Because it is near the north celestial pole, Draco is circumpolar from northern latitudes. This means it can be seen all year and never goes below the horizon. The north pole of the ecliptic is also in this constellation, making Draco important in our night sky.

Features

Main article: List of stars in Draco

Draco, the dragon, is a constellation in the northern sky. One important star in Draco is Thuban (α Draconis), which was the north pole star a long time ago. Because of Earth's movement, Thuban will become the pole star again much later in the future. Thuban is a blue-white giant star far from Earth.

Other notable stars in Draco include Gamma Draconis, an orange giant star, and Beta Draconis, a yellow giant star. Draco also has many pairs of stars that move around each other.

Draco is home to some interesting objects far away in space, such as the Cat's Eye Nebula, a planetary nebula found long ago. The constellation also includes faint galaxies and groups of galaxies. One famous galaxy is Arp 188, also called the Tadpole Galaxy.

Draco is linked to two meteor showers. The October Draconids can sometimes show many meteors in an hour. The February Eta Draconids was found in 2011.

Mythology

Draco, meaning "dragon" in Latin, is one of the 48 constellations listed by the ancient astronomer Ptolemy in his work the Almagest. In Greek stories, Draco was seen as different dragons. One tale says it was a giant dragon defeated by the goddess Athena, who then placed it in the sky. Another story links Draco to Ladon, the dragon that guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides. The hero Heracles defeated Ladon, and it was turned into a constellation.

In Arabic stories, Draco was not seen as a dragon but as mother camels protecting a baby camel from hyenas. Arabic astronomers also used the Greek name for Draco, calling it At-Tannin, meaning "the dragon."

Namesakes

The constellation Draco has inspired many names. The United States Navy had a ship named Draco, a kind of cargo ship called a Crater class cargo ship. In the 1996 movie Dragonheart, the main character’s name comes from Draco, and the story has a magical place for dragons called Draco.

A famous chess move, the Dragon Variation of the Sicilian Defense, was named after the constellation by a Russian chess master, Fyodor Dus-Chotimirsky. In the Harry Potter books, a character named Draco Malfoy gets his name from this starry dragon.