BOOTES
(Boo)

Generalities: it is a northern constellation characterized by the presence of the brightest star of the northern celestial hemisphere : Arcturus. The name of this star derives from the Greek " arctos-oura " which means " tail of the she-bear". In fact, by following the star joint of the Big Dipper rudder  you will meet  this bright star. The constellation of Boote transits at  midnight at the beginning  of May.

Origins and mythology: the mythological tradition of this constellation is tied to the figure of Boote, even if there are not any particular correlated episodes. Probably Boote was a shepherd, who was welcomed in the sky for having invented the plow thrown by the oxen.

Stars: Boote shows Arcturus, the fourth star of the sky, first in the northern hemisphere. Its magnitude is equal to -0.04, it is orange  and is 37 light-years far. Arcturus is a star in the last  phase of its life, it is in fact a very old star, over 10 billion years old. Besides Arcturus, other two stars of Boote are under  magnitude 3; other five under  magnitude 4.

Table of stars brighter than magnitude 3.5
 
 
Star Proper name Magnitude Spectrum Colour Distance (light-years) Notes
Alpha Arcturus -0.04 K2 orange 37 4th  star in the skyella di tutto il cielo
Epsilon Izar 2.37 K0 orange 150
Eta 2.68 G0 yellow 32
Gamma Seginus 3.03 A7 white 105
Delta 3.47 G8 orange 140
Beta Nekkar 3.50 G8 orange 137
Rho 3.58 K3 orange 182
Zeta 3.78 A2 white 205

 Other objects: Boote doesn't contain any other objects of great interest.


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