The eighth-largest constellation, representing a dragon curled around the north celestial pole. Its brightest star is Gamma Draconis (Eltanin). Alpha Draconis is known as Thuban. Draco contains several interesting double stars. They include Mu Draconis, a close pair each of magnitude 5.7 which orbit in a period of about 800 years, and Nu Draconis, a binocular pair, both magnitude 4.9. NGC 6543 is a 9th-magnitude planetary nebula.