King Zisan

24/07/2026

Draco (also known as Ancient Greek: Ὄφις, romanized: Ophis, lit. 'serpent')[13] is one of the 48 constellations listed in Ptolemy's Almagest (2nd century), adopted from the list by Eudoxus of Cnidus (4th century BC).[14]

Draco was identified with several different dragons in Greek mythology. Gaius Julius Hyginus in De Astronomica reports that it was one of the Gigantes, who battled the Olympian gods for ten years in the Gigantomachy, before the goddess Athena killed it and tossed it into the sky upon his defeat. As Athena threw the dragon, it became twisted on itself and froze at the cold north celestial pole before it could right itself.[15][16] Aelius Aristides names him Aster or Asterius ('star' or 'starry') and says that Athens' Great Panathenaea festival celebrated Athena's victory over him.[17][18] The festival coincided with the culmination of the constellation's head as seen from the Athenian Acropolis.[18]

The Catasterismi attributed to Eratosthenes identify Draco as Ladon, the dragon who guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides.[16] When Heracles was tasked with stealing the golden apples during his twelve labors, he killed Ladon and Hera transformed Ladon into a constellation.[19] In the sky, Hercules is depicted with one foot on the head of Draco.[20] Sometimes, Draco is represented as the monstrous son of Gaia, Typhon.[16]

Traditional Arabic astronomy does not depict a dragon in modern-day Draco, which is called the Mother Camels. Instead, two hyenas, represented by Eta Draconis and Zeta Draconis are seen attacking a baby camel (a dim star near Beta Draconis), which is protected by four female camels, represented by Beta Draconis, Gamma Draconis, Nu Draconis, and Xi Draconis. The nomads who own the camels are camped nearby, represented by a cooking tripod composed of Upsilon, Tau, and Sigma Draconis.[21] However Arabic astronomers also knew of the Greek interpretation of the constellation, referring to it in Arabic as At-Tinnin (التنين, 'the dragon'), which is the source of the formal name of Gamma Draconis, Eltanin, from raʾs al-tinnīn ('the head of the dragon').

24/07/2026

24/07/2026

The July Gamma Draconids minor meteor shower peaks on July 28, remaining active from July 25 to July 31. For the main, famous Draconid meteor shower, the peak occurs in October rather than July.

24/07/2026

July Gamma Draconids Details

Peak Date : July 28 (with activity from July 25 to 31).

Hourly Rate : About 5 slow-moving meteors per hour.

Best Time : After midnight until pre-dawn hours.

Location to Look : Toward the constellation Draco in the northern sky. Track upcoming meteor activity using the American Meteor Society or read more on CosmoBC.

20/07/2026

Leo Messi 😐

13/07/2026

Four years of Webb science! And what a time it has been! We've learned so much about our universe and ourselves. Here are some of our favorite images and most interesting science results!

First, our first images and data release below, and the rest by year in our comments!

July 12, 2022, Webb’s first images. Clockwise ->

The “Cosmic Cliffs” of the Carina Nebula, a star-forming region.

The Southern Ring Nebula in mid-infrared, now known to have two stars at its center, a dying star and a partner, both shaping the nebula’s intricate rings.

WASP 96-b spectrum, showing this planet to be large and hot with a “puffy” atmosphere, orbiting very close to its Sun-like star.

Stefan’s Quintet of galaxies in the near-infrared. Four of these five galaxies are colliding, stretching and pulling on each other: two in the middle, one toward the top, and one toward the bottom. The one to the upper left is actually much closer to us.

Galaxy Cluster SMACS 0723, the first image released by Webb, and the deepest and sharpest image of the early universe ever taken as of its release. Thousands of galaxies appear all across the view with varying colors and shapes. Long orange arcs appear at left and right toward the center; these are distant galaxies being warped by the extreme gravity of the galaxy cluster in front of it.

The Southern Ring Nebula but in the near-infrared.

Credits for all images: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI

10/07/2026