Alrakis - μ Draconis (mu Draconis)

Altitude: 30.1° Azimuth: 38.6° Direction: North-East

Alrakis, also designated as μ Draconis (mu Draconis), is a multiple main-sequence star in the constellation of Draco.

Alrakis visual magnitude is 5.8. Because of its reltive faintness, Alrakis should be visible only from locations with dark skyes, while it is not visible at all from skyes affected by light pollution.

The table below summarizes the key facts about Alrakis:

Color of Alrakis ⬤

Magnitude of Alrakis 5.8

Class Main-sequence

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW

Alrakis - μ Draconis (mu Draconis) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 30.1°
Azimuth: 38.6°
Direction: North-East

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Alrakis

Alrakis is situated north of the celestial equator, as such, it is more easily visible from the northern hemisphere. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of Alrakis are provided in the following table:

Right Ascension J2000 17h 05m 19s

Declination J2000 +54° 28’ 13”

Galactic Longitude 82.3°

Galactic Latitude 37.02°

Constellation Draco

The simplified sky map below shows the position of Alrakis in the sky:

Finder chart Alrakis - μ Draconis (mu Draconis) star

Simplified finder chart for Alrakis - μ Draconis (mu Draconis).

Visibility of Alrakis from your location

Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London

Alrakis - μ Draconis (mu Draconis) is circumpolar and transits at 00:16 UTC (altitude: 87.0°)

Digitized Sky Survey image of Alrakis

The image below is a photograph of Alrakis from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2 - see the credits section) taken in the red channel. The area of sky represented in the image is 0.5x0.5 degrees (30x30 arcmins). The proper motion of Alrakis is -0.073 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and 0.085 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of Alrakis - μ Draconis (mu Draconis) star

DSS2 image of Alrakis. The red arrow shows the motion of Alrakis during the next 10000 years (-12.17 arcmin in Right Ascension and 14.17 arcmin in declination);

Distance of Alrakis from the Sun and relative movement

Alrakis is distant 75.81 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 15 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 23.26 pc

Distance (light year) 75.81 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity -15 km/s

Proper Motion RA -0.073 arcsec/year

Proper Motion Dec 0.085 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of Alrakis

Alrakis belongs to spectral class F7 and has a luminosity class of V corresponding to a main-sequence star.

Absolute magnitude 3.97

Spectral Type F7V

Color Index (B-V) 0.48

Temperature of Alrakis 6481K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where Alrakis is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

H-R diagram showing the position of Alrakis. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

Alrakis star system properties

Alrakis is a visual double star which can be observed with the help of medium or large telescopes. The table below shows key information about the Alrakis double sysyem:

Main star magnitude 5.8

Secondary star magnitude 5.9

Magnitude difference 0.1

Separation 2 arcsec

Alternative designations of Alrakis

Proper Name Alrakis

Bayer designation μ Draconis
(mu Draconis)

Flamsteed designation 21 Draconis

Henry Draper Catalogue HD154906

SAO Catalogue SAO30239

Durchmusterung Catalogue BD+54 1857

Gliese Catalogue Wo 9584 A

Aitken Double Star Catalogue ADS10345

In Evidence

Other stars in Draco