"Arc to Arcturus": Face
north, and find the Big Dipper high in the sky.
The dipper shape is comprised of a bowl formed by 4 stars and an
arc-shaped handle of 3 stars. Extend the curve of the arc away from the Dipper – to the East and
South. The very bright star nearby is
Arcturus, in the constellation Bootes.
Bootes is shaped like a kite. Arcturus
is at the bottom of the kite. In Greek
mythology, Bootes is either the Hunter or Herdsman – hunting or herding the
bear represented by the Big Dipper (Ursa Major, or Big Bear in Latin). In
May 2014, there are two bright planets Mars and Saturn, which are south and east
of Arcturus
Arcturus is the 2nd brightest star visible from earth's
northern hemisphere. The brightest is Sirius,
which sets around 9 PM in May. In
brightness, Arcturus just edges out the very bright star Vega, in the
constellation Lyra, northeast of Bootes.
Arcturus appears orange to the naked eye, and it is classified as a red
giant – which is what our sun will become in about 5 billion years, as it nears
the end of its life.
There are no exciting nebulae or galaxies in Bootes, but there are some
nice double stars which can be seen as such in binoculars. The best of these is named Izar, or epsilon
Bootis. It has an orange giant close to
a white dwarf. It was given the name
Pulcherrima, "most beautiful," by its discoverer.
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