EarthSky | The Dragon and a former pole star
June 6, 2021 Johannes Hevelius drew the constellation Draco the Dragon in Uranographia, his celestial catalog, in 1690. Note the circle around the Dragon, and the star in the Dragon’s Tail. That star is Thuban, a former pole star. Image via Wikimedia Commons. Thuban, pole star for ancient Egypt Tonight, if you have a dark sky, you’ll be able to pick out the constellation Draco the Dragon winding around our modern-day pole star, aka the North Star, which we call Polaris. The image at the top of this post shows Draco as depicted in an old star atlas by Johannes Hevelius in 1690. See the cir...