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:

Color of Fafnir ⬤

Magnitude of Fafnir 4.82

Class Giant

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW

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:

Right Ascension J2000 18h 25m 59s

Declination J2000 +65° 33’ 48”

Galactic Longitude 95.42°

Galactic Latitude 27.13°

Constellation Draco

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

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.

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.

Distance (parsec) 97.28 pc

Distance (light year) 317.12 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity 32 km/s

Proper Motion RA 0.105 arcsec/year

Proper Motion Dec -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.

Absolute magnitude -0.12

Spectral Type K1III

Color Index (B-V) 1.19

Temperature of Fafnir 4328K

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

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

Alternative designations of Fafnir

Proper Name Fafnir

Flamsteed designation 42 Draconis

Henry Draper Catalogue HD170693

SAO Catalogue SAO17888

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP90344

Durchmusterung Catalogue BD+65 1271

FK5 Catalogue 3465

In Evidence

Other stars in Draco