A visually unremarkable star of apparent magnitude 3.3,[2] in 2002 it was discovered to have a planet orbiting it[13] (designated Iota Draconis b, later named Hypatia).

In July 2014 the International Astronomical Union launched NameExoWorlds, a process for giving proper names to certain exoplanets and their host stars.

[18] The winning name was submitted by Hypatia, a student society of the Physics Faculty of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain.

[20] Consequently, the Chinese name for Iota Draconis itself is 紫微左垣一 (Zǐ Wēi Zuǒ Yuán yī, English: the First Star of Left Wall of Purple Forbidden Enclosure.

[3] The spectrum matches a stellar classification of K2 III,[4] indicating this is an evolved star that has exhausted the supply of hydrogen at its core and left the main sequence.

[13] The habitable zone for this star lies in the range of 6.8–13.5 Astronomical Units, placing this planet well inside.