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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:47  
SunsetSet: 18:30 south
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All Constellations » Draco » 

φ Draconis (phi Draconis)

Altitude: 41.1°   Azimuth: 22.6°   Direction: North-North-East

φ Draconis is a variable and multiple hypergiant star in the constellation of Draco.

φ Draconis visual magnitude is 4.22. Because of its moderate brightness, φ Draconis 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 φ Draconis:

4.22
Hypergiant

φ Draconis (phi Draconis) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 41.1°
Azimuth: 22.6°
Direction: North-North-East

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of φ Draconis

φ Draconis 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 φ Draconis are provided in the following table:

18h 20m 45s
+71° 20’ 16”
101.88°
28.04°
Draco

The simplified sky map below shows the position of φ Draconis in the sky:

Finder chart φ Draconis (phi Draconis) star
Simplified finder chart for φ Draconis (phi Draconis).

Visibility of φ Draconis from your location

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

φ Draconis (phi Draconis) is circumpolar and transits at 17:28 UTC (altitude: 70.1°)

Digitized Sky Survey image of φ Draconis

The image below is a photograph of φ Draconis 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 φ Draconis is -0.004 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and 0.04 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of φ Draconis (phi Draconis) star
DSS2 image of φ Draconis. The red arrow shows the motion of φ Draconis during the next 10000 years (-0.67 arcmin in Right Ascension and 6.67 arcmin in declination);

Distance of φ Draconis from the Sun and relative movement

φ Draconis is distant 289.01 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 16 kilometers per second.

88.65 pc
289.01 ly
-16 km/s
-0.004 arcsec/year
0.04 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of φ Draconis

φ Draconis belongs to spectral class A0 φ Draconis is also a Si chemically peculiar star.

-0.52
A0
11573K

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

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

φ Draconis star system properties

φ Draconis is a visual double star which can be observed only with the help of very large telescopes. The table below shows key information about the φ Draconis double sysyem:

4.22
5.92
1.7
0.2 arcsec

Alternative designations of φ Draconis

φ Draconis
(phi Draconis)
43 Draconis
SAO9084
SAO9084