|
Constellation
Draco - The Dragon
Object name: Draco
Equatorial: RA: 17h 45m 02s Dec: +62°30'38"(current)
Equatorial 2000: RA: 17h 45m 00s Dec: +62°30'36"
Sky Database: Constellation
Abbreviation: Dra
Genitive Form: Draconis
Description: The Dragon
Pronunciation: DRAY' koh
Genitive Pronunciation: dray KOH' nis
Draco - The Dragon
The offspring
of a union between the monster Typhon and a half woman, half serpent
creature named Echidna, Draco the dragon guarded the golden apple
tree of Hera. The tree had been given to Hera as a gift by Zeus.
Its apples were so relished that Hera needed to employ the dragon to
protect the apples from thieves.
Hercules was required, as
one of his labors, to steal some apples from the golden tree. He
slew the dragon with poison arrows and made off with the fruit.
Hera placed the image of the dragon in the sky as the constellation
Draco. One of the largest constellations in the sky, it winds
around the North star and extends past Ursa
Minor the Little Bear, its tail nearly touching
Camelopardalus the Giraffe.
|
