North celestial pole. Optical image of the stars around the north celestial pole. This is marked by the pole star Polaris (Alpha Ursae Minoris, upper

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North celestial pole. Optical image of the stars around the north celestial pole. This is marked by the pole star Polaris (Alpha Ursae Minoris, upper centre) in the constellation Ursa Minor, the little bear. At far right, three of the bright stars in the Plough (part of Ursa Major, the great bear) are seen. Surrounding Ursa Minor is the faint constellation Draco, the dragon. The head of the dragon is formed by the quadrilateral of stars at lower left. The brightest of these is the orange star Eltanin (Gamma Draconis), which is just to the left of the white star Rastaban (Beta Draconis), a name meaning \head of the snake\"."

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Size: 3150px × 3142px
Photo credit: © ECKHARD SLAWIK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: astronomy, celestial, constellation, cosmology, draco, draconis, eltanin, gamma, minor, night, north, optical, plough, polaris, pole, rastaban, science, sky, star, starfield, stars, stellar, ursa