Draco

Lozenge of Draco

Draco's Head

common observer pattern · high confidence

Draco's head is a small tilted lozenge north of Hercules, with the Nu Draconis pair on one corner. It is circumpolar from 50°N and best placed on summer evenings.

Central RA: 17^h 41^m 00.0^s
Central Dec: +54° 12′ 15″
Brightest member: V 2.23
Best months from 50°N: June–September evenings
Suggested instrument: naked-eye
Approx. span: 5.7°

Finder context

This wider chart is deliberately schematic: it uses nearby bright-star context and boxes the asterism’s member-star footprint, but it does not draw official constellation boundaries or promise horizon/season precision.

Framing: Approximate member-star span: 5.7°; use at least 7.9° field for context.

Observing and imaging

Naked eye

Primary naked-eye pattern; suburban skies should show the main stars unless the description notes a low horizon or dark-sky need.

Binoculars

Binoculars are optional: use them to check colours, nearby doubles, or richer Milky Way background.

Small scope

A telescope is usually too narrow for the whole shape; use it after the pattern has guided you to a target.

Imaging

Frame as a wide-field scene in/near Draco; a field of view around 8° keeps context without claiming exact constellation boundaries.

Observability from your latitude

Uses this asterism’s centroid RA/Dec: transit altitude, hours above 20°, and a month-scale evening window. Default is Edmonton-ish 50°N.

Latitude 50°NMonth Sky darkness Bortle 4 · limit V 6.1

Naked-eye visibility by sky class

Approximate limiting magnitudes: Bortle 3 ≈ V 6.6, Bortle 5 ≈ V 5.6, Bortle 7 ≈ V 4.6. The shape is counted recognisable when at least 70% of defining stars clear the limit.

Bortle 3: 5/5 stars — fully visibleBortle 5: 5/5 stars — fully visibleBortle 7: 3/5 stars — washed out

Member stars

Name	Bayer / Flamsteed	HR	RA J2000	Dec J2000	V mag
Eltanin	33Gam Dra	HR 6705	17^h 56^m 36.4^s	+51° 29′ 20″	2.23
Rastaban	23Bet Dra	HR 6536	17^h 30^m 26.0^s	+52° 18′ 05″	2.79
32Xi Dra	32Xi Dra	HR 6688	17^h 53^m 31.7^s	+56° 52′ 22″	3.75
25Nu 2Dra	25Nu 2Dra	HR 6555	17^h 32^m 16.0^s	+55° 10′ 23″	4.87
24Nu 1Dra	24Nu 1Dra	HR 6554	17^h 32^m 10.6^s	+55° 11′ 03″	4.88

Source and confidence

common observer pattern; high confidence. Commonly used constellation-part or seasonal guide-pattern name, with member-star positions plotted from BSC5.

Citations

Bright Star Catalogue, 5th Revised Ed.: Hoffleit, D. & Warren, W.H. Jr. (1991). Positions, V magnitudes, Bayer/Flamsteed identifiers. source
Star Tales: Ridpath, I. Constellation and asterism notes used to cross-check common sky-pattern names. source
The Hipparcos and Tycho Catalogues: ESA SP-1200 (1997). Used as the modern astrometric reference named by the atlas; the MVP pages expose BSC5 J2000 fields for the plotted bright-star members.