Xi Draconis (ξ Draconis, abbreviated Xi Dra, ξ Dra) is a

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

binary star A binary star is a system of two stars that are gravitationally bound to and in orbit around each other. Binary stars in the night sky that are seen as a single object to the naked eye are often resolved using a telescope as separate stars, in wh ...

in the

northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

circumpolar constellation of

Draco Draco is the Latin word for serpent or dragon. Draco or Drako may also refer to: People * Draco (lawgiver) (from Greek: Δράκων; 7th century BC), the first lawgiver of ancient Athens, Greece, from whom the term ''draconian'' is derived * D ...

. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 3.75. Based upon

parallax Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines. Due to foreshortening, nearby objects ...

measurements, it is located at a distance of from the Sun. At this distance, the apparent magnitude is diminished by 0.03 from extinction caused by intervening gas and dust. The two components are designated Xi Draconis A (officially named Grumium , a traditional name for the system) and B.

Nomenclature

''ξ Draconis'' ( Latinised to ''Xi Draconis'') is the system's

Bayer designation A Bayer designation is a stellar designation in which a specific star is identified by a Greek or Latin letter followed by the genitive form of its parent constellation's Latin name. The original list of Bayer designations contained 1,564 stars. ...

. The designations of the two components as ''Xi Draconis A'' and ''B'' derive from the convention used by the Washington Multiplicity Catalog (WMC) for multiple

star system A star system or stellar system is a small number of stars that orbit each other, bound by gravitational attraction. A large group of stars bound by gravitation is generally called a '' star cluster'' or '' galaxy'', although, broadly speak ...

s, and adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). It bore the traditional names ''Grumium''. This is a graphic corruption of the Latin ''Grunnum'' 'snout', as Ptolemy had described this star as being on the jawbone of the dragon. In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) to catalogue and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN decided to attribute proper names to individual stars rather than entire multiple systems. It approved the name ''Grumium'' for the component Xi Draconis A on 12 September 2016 and it is now so included in the List of IAU-approved Star Names. This star was also known as ''Nodus I'' or ''Nodus Primus''. Along with Beta Draconis (Rastaban), Gamma Draconis (Eltanin),

Mu Draconis Mu Draconis (μ Draconis, abbreviated Mu Dra, μ Dra) is a multiple star system near the head of the constellation of Draco. With a combined magnitude of 4.92, it is visible to the naked eye. Based on parallax estimates by the ...

(Erakis) and Nu Draconis (Kuma), it was one of ''Al ʽAwāyd'' "the Mother Camels", which were later known as the ''Quinque Dromedarii''. In

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

, (), meaning '' Celestial Flail'', refers to an asterism consisting of Xi Draconis, Nu Draconis, Beta Draconis, Gamma Draconis and Iota Herculis. Consequently, the Chinese name for Xi Draconis itself is (, en, the First Star of Celestial Flail).香港太空館 - 研究資源 - 亮星中英對照表
, Hong Kong Space Museum. Accessed on line November 23, 2010.

Namesake

USS ''Grumium'' (AK-112) was a United States Navy ''Crater''-class cargo ship named after the star.

Properties

Xi Draconis A is of spectral class K2-III. The possible companion, Xi Draconis B, is a 16th-magnitude star 316 arcseconds away but, most likely, the pairing is just a line-of-sight coincidence.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xi Draconis Draco (constellation) Draconis, Xi Grumium K-type giants 087585 Draconis, 32 6688 163588 Durchmusterung objects