All Constellations » Draco »

Athebyne - η Draconis (eta Draconis)

Athebyne, also designated as η Draconis (eta Draconis), is a variable and multiple giant star in the constellation of Draco.

Athebyne visual magnitude is 2.74. Thanks to its high brightness, Athebyne is clearly visible when observed from locations with dark skyes, and should be also quite easily visible from light polluted areas.

The table below summarizes the key facts about Athebyne:

Color of Athebyne ⬤

Magnitude of Athebyne 2.74

Class Giant

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW Athebyne - η Draconis (eta Draconis) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]. Altitude: 31°.

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Athebyne

Athebyne is situated close to the northern celestial pole and, as such, it is visible for most part of the year from the northern hemisphere. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of Athebyne are provided in the following table:

Right Ascension J2000 16h 23m 59s

Declination J2000 +61° 30’ 51”

Galactic Longitude 92.58°

Galactic Latitude 40.95°

Constellation Draco

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

Finder chart Athebyne - η Draconis (eta Draconis) star

Simplified finder chart for Athebyne - η Draconis (eta Draconis).

Visibility of Athebyne from your location

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

Athebyne - η Draconis (eta Draconis) is circumpolar and transits at 04:18 UTC (altitude: 80.0°)

Digitized Sky Survey image of Athebyne

The image below is a photograph of Athebyne 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 Athebyne is -0.017 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and 0.061 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of Athebyne - η Draconis (eta Draconis) star

DSS2 image of Athebyne. The red arrow shows the motion of Athebyne during the next 10000 years (-2.83 arcmin in Right Ascension and 10.17 arcmin in declination);

Distance of Athebyne from the Sun and relative movement

Athebyne is distant 87.68 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 14 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 26.90 pc

Distance (light year) 87.68 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity -14 km/s

Proper Motion RA -0.017 arcsec/year

Proper Motion Dec 0.061 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of Athebyne

Athebyne belongs to spectral class G8 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a giant star.

Absolute magnitude 0.59

Spectral Type G8III

Color Index (B-V) 0.91

Temperature of Athebyne 4970K

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

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

Athebyne star system properties

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

Main star magnitude 2.74

Secondary star magnitude 7.54

Magnitude difference 4.8

Separation 564.9 arcsec

Alternative designations of Athebyne

Proper Name Athebyne

Bayer designation η Draconis
(eta Draconis)

Flamsteed designation 14 Draconis

Henry Draper Catalogue HD148387

SAO Catalogue SAO17074

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP80331

Durchmusterung Catalogue BD+61 1591

Gliese Catalogue Gl 624.1A

General Catalogue of Variable Stars 7713

Aitken Double Star Catalogue ADS10058

How to support us

In Evidence

Other stars in Draco