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

Aldhibah

Designations

  • Bayer: ζ Dra
  • Flamsteed: 22 Dra
  • Hipparchos: HIP 83895

Data

  • Constellation: Draco
  • Apparent Magnitude: 3.17
  • Right Ascension (J2000): 17h08m49.34s
  • Declination (J2000): +65°41'08".3
  • Colour Index (B-V): -0.11
  • Distance: 417.08±29.33ly

Nomenclature

Aldhibah

The indigenous Arabian title for ζ Dra was al-Ḏi’b al-Awwal, 'the first wolf', which was bastardised into the modern form Aldhibah. The name signified that it was part of the asterism al-Ḏi’bān, 'the two wolves'. These wolves were part of the scene of al-ʽAwā’iḏ, 'the mother camels', and were depicted circling the camels, trying to find an opening to the newborn al-Rubaʽ, 'the camel foal', that the mothers encircle.

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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