Shampagen's Astronomy
Star Cultures • Modern Constellations • Stars • Asterisms • Deep Sky Objects

Alruba

Designations

  • Hipparchos: HIP 86782

Data

  • Constellation: Draco
  • Apparent Magnitude: 5.76
  • Right Ascension (J2000): 17h44m01.00s
  • Declination (J2000): +53°48'18".0
  • Colour Index (B-V): 0.01
  • Distance: 464.61±5.29ly

Nomenclature

Alruba

Alruba comes from Arabic Al Rubaʽ, 'the camel foal', specifically one born in the spring. It was part of the indigenous Arabian scene al-ʽAwā’iḏ, known in English as the Mother Camels. The asterism depicted a caravan of camels surrounding the newborn foal, protecting it from two wolves represented by the stars Aldhibah (ζ), and Athebyne (η) Dra.

Sources

  • IAU WGSN. IAU-Catalog of Star Names (CSN). link.
  • Stellarium Contributors. Stellarium Astronomy Software. link.
  • Lafitte, Roland. Catalogue of Star Names of the Arabian Traditional Sky. link.
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