Johann Bayer gave Thuban the designation Alpha and placed it as the only member of his secundae magnitude class in Draco, although its current apparent magnitude of 3.65 means it is 3.7 times fainter than the brightest star in the constellation, Gamma Draconis (Eltanin), which Bayer placed in his tertiae magnitude class although its current apparent magnitude is 2.24.[7]
The traditional name Thuban is derived from the Arabic word ثعبانthuʿbān ('large snake' (e.g. a python or a legendary draconian serpent)). It is sometimes known as the Dragon's Tail and as Adib/əˈdiːb/.[6] In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN)[8] to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN's first bulletin of July 2016[9] included a table of the first two batches of names approved by the WGSN; which included Thuban for this star. It is now so entered in the IAU Catalog of Star Names.[10]
Given good viewing conditions, Thuban is relatively easy to spot in the night sky, due to its location in relation to the Big Dipper (aka the Plough) asterism of Ursa Major. While it is well known that the two outer stars of the 'dipper' point to the modern-day pole starPolaris, it is less well known that the two inner stars, Phecda and Megrez, point to Thuban, just 15 degrees of arc from Megrez. Thuban is not bright enough to be viewed from badly light-polluted areas.
Pole star
Precession of the equinoxes for the Pole Star. Thuban is toward the right of the image, below the −2000 mark.
Due to the precession of Earth's rotational axis, Thuban was the naked-eye star closest to the north pole from 3942 BC, when it superseded Tau Herculis as the pole star, until 1793 BC, when it was superseded by Kappa Draconis. It was closest to the pole in 2830 BC, when it was less than 10 arcminutes away from the pole.[14] It remained within one degree of celestial north for nearly 200 years afterwards, and even 900 years after its closest approach, was just 5° off the pole. Thuban was considered the pole star until about 1800 BC, when the much brighter Beta Ursae Minoris (Kochab) began to approach the pole as well.
Having gradually drifted away from the pole over the last 4800 years, Thuban is now seen in the night sky at a declination of 64° 20′ 45.6″, RA14h 04m 33.58s. After moving nearly 47° off the pole by 10,000 AD, Thuban will gradually move back toward the north celestial pole. In 20,346 AD, it will again be the pole star, that year reaching a maximum declination of 88° 43′ 17.3″, at right ascension 19h 08m 54.17s.[citation needed]
A light curve for Thuban, plotted from TESS data.[15] The main plot shows the entire light curve, and the inset plots show the primary and secondary minima with an expanded scale.
Thuban is a single-lined spectroscopic binary. For a long time, only the primary star could be detected in the spectrum. The radial velocity variations of the stars can be measured and the pair have a somewhat eccentric orbit of 51.4 days.[3] The secondary is a main-sequence star slightly cooler than the primary, with an A1 spectral class.[3]
Thuban has a spectral class of A0III, indicating its similarity to Vega in temperature and spectrum, but more luminous and more massive. It has been used as an MK spectral standard for the A0III type.[18]
Thuban is not a main-sequence star; it has now ceased hydrogenfusion in its core. That makes it a white giant star, being 120 times more luminous than the Sun. It is 300 light-years away and its brightness is only decreased by 0.003 of a magnitude by intervening gas and dust.[5]
^ abcdefPavlovski, K.; Hummel, C. A.; Tkachenko, A.; Dervişoğlu, A.; Kayhan, C.; Zavala, R. T.; Hutter, D. J.; Tycner, C.; Şahin, T.; Audenaert, J.; Baeyens, R.; Bodensteiner, J.; Bowman, D. M.; Gebruers, S.; Jannsen, N. E.; Mombarg, J. S. G. (2022). "Dynamical parallax, physical parameters, and evolutionary status of the components of the bright eclipsing binary α Draconis". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 658: A92. arXiv:2111.03887. Bibcode:2022A&A...658A..92P. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202142292. S2CID243847585.
^ abKunitzsch, Paul; Smart, Tim (2006). A Dictionary of Modern star Names: A Short Guide to 254 Star Names and Their Derivations (2nd rev. ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Sky Pub. ISBN978-1-931559-44-7.
^Morgan, W. W.; Abt, Helmut A.; Tapscott, J. W. (1978). "Revised MK Spectral Atlas for stars earlier than the sun". Williams Bay: Yerkes Observatory. Bibcode:1978rmsa.book.....M.
