When is the best time to observe Ed Asich?

Ed Asich is best observed from April through June, with peak visibility during May when it transits around midnight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Where is Ed Asich located in the sky?

Ed Asich lies in the constellation Draco at right ascension 15h 25m and declination +58° 58′.

What telescope do I need to see Ed Asich?

At magnitude 3.3, Ed Asich is visible to the naked eye from dark skies, easy in any binoculars.

Ed Asich — Star in Draco

HIP 75458; Iota Draconis; 12 Draconis

Magnitude 3.3^m Star Draco (Dra) Visible 2 Exoplanets

Star Map + List + Plan

About Ed Asich

Description

Ed Asich, Iota Draconis, is a K2 III orange giant about 101 light-years away that became famous in 2002 as the first giant star found to host an exoplanet. The planet, Iota Dra b, has a minimum mass of 9 Jupiters and orbits in a highly eccentric 1.3-year path. The star itself is about 1.8 solar masses and 12 times the Sun's radius, making it an interesting laboratory for how planetary systems survive their host star's evolution into a giant.

Observing Tips

Ed Asich marks the bend in Draco's tail between the main body of the dragon and its head (containing Grumium and Rastaban). It is an easy naked-eye star at magnitude 3.29. The star's rich orange color is striking in binoculars. Circumpolar from mid-northern latitudes. Best observed April through October.

History

The name Ed Asich derives from the Arabic "aẓ-ẓīhī," meaning "the male hyena." The exoplanet was discovered in 2002 by radial velocity measurements at McDonald Observatory — one of the first planets detected around a subgiant or giant star, not a main-sequence dwarf.

Fun Facts

Iota Dra b's eccentric orbit takes it from 0.4 AU to 2.2 AU from the star, providing an extreme climate if it were a rocky world. Ed Asich's planet confirmed that gas giants can survive the early red-giant evolution of their hosts — a crucial data point for understanding the ultimate fate of planets like Jupiter when the Sun eventually expands.