Thuban

Thuban, designated Alpha Draconis, is a binary star system in the northern constellation Draco. It is a relatively bright star visible to the naked eye with an apparent magnitude of about 3.6. The system lies at a distance of roughly 300 light-years from the Sun. The primary star is accompanied by a close companion, making Thuban a binary system and a target for studies of stellar multiplicity and orbital dynamics.

The name Thuban derives from the Arabic word for dragon. Historically, Thuban was the North Star around 2700 BCE due to the precession of the Earth's axis, which shifts the position of the celestial pole over millennia. Today the celestial pole is near Polaris in Ursa Minor, and Thuban is no longer the pole star.

In the sky, Thuban is part of Draco and is best observed from the northern hemisphere during spring evenings. Beyond its cultural and historical significance, the star has contributed to studies of precession and stellar motion. Observations using parallax and spectroscopy have helped refine its distance estimates and illuminate the orbital properties of the binary system.