Altais is an orange star in the coils of Draco, cooler than the Sun but swollen far wider, shining as one of the steadier lamps along the dragon’s body.
At a glance
| type | orange star (class K) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 97.4 light-years (29.9 pc) |
| its light left it | 97.4 years ago |
| luminosity | 56.9 × the Sun |
| radius | 9.19 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 5,230 K |
| constellation | Draco (Dragon) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Altais
Altais is an orange star of class K, and its numbers say more: a surface a little cooler than the Sun’s, spread over a sphere many times wider, so that it gives out far more light in total. A star with that combination has used up the hydrogen in its core and begun to expand, on the way to becoming a giant.
Its name comes from the Arabic al-tāʾis, “the goat”. It is Delta Draconis, one of the stars that trace the dragon’s winding body between the Little Bear and the head of the figure. The north pole of the ecliptic, the point the Earth’s orbit turns around, lies in Draco not far from it.
What you see in the piece
From Earth it sits in a chain of similar stars that seem to form one coiling line. Fly out and that chain comes apart: Altais is a near neighbour, while other stars of the dragon lie much further behind it.
Questions
How far away is Altais?
Altais is 97.4 light-years (29.9 pc) from the Sun, so the light reaching us now left it 97.4 years ago.