Draco (constellation)

Have you ever looked up at the stars at night and seen shapes and patterns in the sky? These are called constellations. One of them is called Draco, which is named after a Latin word for dragon!

Draco is a group of stars that looks like a long, winding dragon in the sky. It's shaped like a "U" with a pointy tail at one end and a head with two bright stars at the other end. The stars in Draco are very far away from us, but they look close together because they are all in the same part of the sky.

Even though it's just a bunch of stars, people have been telling stories about Draco for centuries. In ancient Greek mythology, Draco was said to be a dragon that guarded a golden apple in a garden. In another story, Draco was the dragon that Hercules had to defeat as one of his tasks.

Scientists use constellations like Draco to help them find their way around the night sky. They can use special tools to measure the distances between the stars and even study the light they give off to learn more about them.

So next time you look up at the stars, see if you can spot Draco the dragon in the sky!