The binary system consists of a bright giant orbited by a dwarf companion once every four millennia or so.[14] The companion is about 11 magnitudes fainter than the primary star,[15] and the two are separated by 4.2″.[10]
Beta Draconis lies on or near the cepheid instability strip,[23] yet only appears to be a microvariable with a range of about 1/100 of a magnitude.[24][25] It was confirmed as a variable star with a range of about 1/100 of a magnitude by Gabriel Cristian Neagu using data from the TESS and Hipparcos missions.[24][25] The variability was reported to the AAVSO (American Association of Variable Star Observers), in the Variable Star Index.[26]
It bore the traditional name Rastaban, which has also been used for Gamma Draconis.[14][28] This name, less commonly written Rastaben, derives from the Arabic phrase ra's ath-thu'ban "head of the serpent/dragon". It was also known as Asuia and Alwaid/ælˈweɪd/,[29] the latter from the Arabic al-ʽawāʼidh "the old mother camels".[29] In 2016, the IAU organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN)[30] to catalogue and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN approved the name Rastaban for the component Beta Draconis A on 21 August 2016 and it is now so included in the List of IAU-approved Star Names.[11]
Beta Draconis is part of the asterism of the Mother Camels (Arabic al'awa'id), along with Gamma Draconis (Eltanin), Mu Draconis (Erakis), Nu Draconis (Kuma) and Xi Draconis (Grumium), which was later known as the Quinque Dromedarii.[28]
In Chinese, 天棓 (Tiān Bàng), meaning Celestial Flail, refers to an asterism consisting of Beta Draconis, Xi Draconis, Nu Draconis, Gamma Draconis and Iota Herculis.[31] Consequently, the Chinese name for Beta Draconis itself is known as 天棓三 (Tiān Bàng sān, English: the Third Star of Celestial Flail).[28][32][33]
^ abHoffleit, D.; Warren, Jr., W. H. "HR 6536, database entry". The Bright Star Catalogue (5th Revised ed.). CDS. Retrieved September 17, 2008. ID V/50.
^Kovtyukh, V. V.; et al. (April 2005). "On the lithium abundance in F-, G-supergiants and its possible correlation with rotation". Kinematika I Fizika Nebesnykh Tel. 21 (2): 141–148. Bibcode:2005KFNT...21..141K.
^Skinner, S. L.; Brown, A. (1996). "ASCA X-ray spectra of late-type giants and supergiants: the active G star Beta Draconis (G2Ib - II)". In Pallavicini, Roberto; Dupree, Andrea K. (eds.). Cool stars; stellar systems; and the sun; Proceedings of the 9th Cambridge workshop; held 3-6 October 1995 in Florence; Italy. Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series. Vol. 109. San Francisco: Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP). p. 291. Bibcode:1996ASPC..109..291S.
^Brown, A.; et al. (August 1984). "High-resolution, far-ultraviolet study of beta Draconis (G2 Ib-II) : transition region structure and energy balance". Astrophysical Journal. 283: 731–744. Bibcode:1984ApJ...283..731B. doi:10.1086/162358.
^ abRicker, George R.; et al. (2014). Oschmann, Jacobus M.; Clampin, Mark; Fazio, Giovanni G.; MacEwen, Howard A. (eds.). "Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)". Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2014: Optical. Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2014: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave. 9143: 914320. arXiv:1406.0151. Bibcode:2014SPIE.9143E..20R. doi:10.1117/12.2063489. hdl:1721.1/97916. S2CID54001919.
^ abESA (1997). "The HIPPARCOS and TYCHO catalogues. Astrometric and photometric star catalogues derived from the ESA HIPPARCOS Space Astrometry Mission". Esa Special Publication. 1200. ESA. Bibcode:1997ESASP1200.....E.
^"bet Dra". The International Variable Star Index. American Association of Variable Star Observers. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
^Hessman, F. V.; et al. (December 2010). "On the naming convention used for multiple star systems and extrasolar planets". arXiv:1012.0707 [astro-ph.SR].
^ abKunitzsch, Paul; Smart, Tim (2006). A Dictionary of Modern star Names: A Short Guide to 254 Star Names and Their Derivations (2nd rev. ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Sky Pub. ISBN978-1-931559-44-7.