Your Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 4:43  
clear_day Transit: 12:58  
SunsetSet: 21:12 south
wb_twilight Astronomical TwilightWhat's Visible Now
All Constellations » Draco » 

Fafnir - 42 Draconis

Altitude: 74.8°   Azimuth: 18.2°   Direction: North-North-East

Fafnir, also designated as 42 Draconis , is a giant star in the constellation of Draco.

Fafnir visual magnitude is 4.82. Because of its moderate brightness, Fafnir should be easily visible from locations with dark skyes, while it can be barely visible, or not visible at all, from skyes affected by light pollution.

The table below summarizes the key facts about Fafnir:

4.82
Giant

Fafnir - 42 Draconis is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 74.8°
Azimuth: 18.2°
Direction: North-North-East

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Fafnir

Fafnir 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 Fafnir are provided in the following table:

18h 25m 59s
+65° 33’ 48”
95.42°
27.13°
Draco

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

Finder chart Fafnir - 42 Draconis star
Simplified finder chart for Fafnir - 42 Draconis.

Visibility of Fafnir from your location

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

Fafnir - 42 Draconis is circumpolar and transits at 01:13 UTC (altitude: 75.9°)

Digitized Sky Survey image of Fafnir

The image below is a photograph of Fafnir 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 Fafnir is 0.105 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.023 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 1000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of Fafnir - 42 Draconis star
DSS2 image of Fafnir. The red arrow shows the motion of Fafnir during the next 1000 years (1.75 arcmin in Right Ascension and -0.38 arcmin in declination);

Distance of Fafnir from the Sun and relative movement

Fafnir is distant 317.12 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 32 kilometers per second.

97.28 pc
317.12 ly
32 km/s
0.105 arcsec/year
-0.023 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of Fafnir

Fafnir belongs to spectral class K1 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a giant star.

-0.12
K1III
4328K

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

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

Alternative designations of Fafnir

Fafnir
42 Draconis
SAO17888
SAO17888