The faint stars of Draco the Dragon wind through the picture. Toward the
upper right edge is Vega
in Lyra. Just down and to the left of Vega
toward the center of the picture is the Dragon's squarish head, dominated by
Eltanin, or Gamma Draconis, and fainter Rastaban (Beta Draconis) immediately
to the left. Kuma (Nu), the faintest star of the head, is just below
Rastaban. Nodus Secundus (Delta) is the brighter of the two
stars below the Dragon's Head, while
Thuban, in Draco's tail, is the brighter of the two
stars at the lower left far edge of the picture.
Draco's tail continues off the picture to the west.
The two bright stars just down and to the left of center are both
Al Dhibain, the brighter Al Dhibain Prior (Eta) the fainter Al Dhibain
Posterior (Zeta). Edasich (Iota) is up and to the right of
Thuban, while Theta is just up and to the left of Eta.
The "Keystone" of Hercules is at the top
of the picture. Iota
Herculis appears as an upward extension of Draco's head.
Draco contains the North Ecliptic Pole, the northern perpendicular
to the Eclipic (the apparent solar path, which defines the Zodiac).
The South Ecliptic Pole is in Dorado.
|
