Rastaban and Eltanin, the Dragon’s Eyes, on June evenings

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Find the Dragon’s Eyes

Tonight, find the Dragon’s Eyes.

I’ve been finding them for years, glancing up to the north on June evenings and spying the two stars marked on today’s chart, Rastaban and Eltanin in the constellation Draco. They’re noticeable because they’re relatively bright and near each other. There’s always that split second when I ask myself with some excitement what two stars are those? It’s then that my eyes drift to blue-white Vega nearby … and I know, by Vega’s nearness, that they are the stars Rastaban and Eltanin.

These two stars represent the fiery eyes of the constellation Draco the Dragon.

And they nearly mark the radiant point for the annual October Draconid meteor shower.

Because the stars stay fixed relative to each other, Vega is always near these stars. Vega, by the way, lodges at the apex of the Summer Triangle, a famous pattern consisting of three bright stars in three separate constellations, also prominent at this time of the year.

Rastaban and Eltanin from the Northern Hemisphere

In either hemisphere, at all time zones, the Dragon’s Eyes climb highest up in the sky around midnight (1 a.m. daylight saving time) in mid-June, 11 p.m. (midnight daylight saving time) in early July, and 9 p.m. (10 p.m. daylight saving time) in early August.

They are far to the north on the imaginary celestial sphere surrounding Earth. If you are north of about 50 degrees N. latitude, you will see them as circumpolar, circling endlessly around the pole star. So people at high northern latitudes get to view the Dragon’s Eyes all night long!

All other northern latitudes will see them frequently and easily somewhere in the northern sky, at some time of the night.

But, as you go southward on Earth’s globe, seeing them becomes trickier.

Rastaban and Eltanin from the Southern Hemisphere

• From latitudes like those Pretoria, South Africa (26 degrees S.), the stars Eltanin and Rastaban sit about 12 degrees above the northern horizon in the middle of the night, in June. If you have a clear view to the north, you will be able to see the Dragon’s Eyes shining low in your sky, positioned just below the bright star Vega.
• From latitudes like those in Melbourne, Australia (37.8 degrees S.), Eltanin skims (in theory) above the northern horizon, while Rastaban stays completely beneath it. In practice, due to atmospheric extinction, light pollution, and any local terrain or trees, a star less than about 1 degree above the horizon can’t be seen.
• From latitudes like those in Wellington, New Zealand (41.3 degreees S.), both of the Dragon’s eyes strictly stay below the horizon at all times.

About constellations

Speaking of Rastaban and Eltanin, one of you asked:

What are constellations?

The answer is that they’re patterns of stars on the sky’s dome. The Greeks and Romans, for example, named them for their gods and goddesses, and also for many sorts of animals. In the 20th century, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) formalized the names and boundaries of the constellations. Now every star in the sky belongs to one or another constellation.

The stars within constellations aren’t connected, except in the mind’s eye of stargazers. The stars in general lie at vastly different distances from Earth. It’s by finding juxtaposed patterns on the sky’s dome that you’ll come to know the constellations, much as I identify Rastaban and Eltanin at this time of the year by looking for the star Vega.

Read more: A Dragon and a former pole star

Bottom line: Look in the northeast on these June evenings, near the star Vega. You’ll see Rastaban and Eltanin, two stars that are bright and close together.

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