Post by glactus on Feb 17, 2008 10:42:36 GMT
The constellation Bootes, the Herdsman, is a summer constellation. The actual meaning of Bootes is the Ox Driver, but due to the constellation's proximity to the two bears (Ursa Major and Minor), it is also referred to as the Bear Driver.
The constellation Bootes looks much like a kite. To find Bootes, first find it's brightest star, Arcturus. To find Arcturus, return to the Big Dipper. Follow the arc of the Big Dipper's handle to Arcturus - the "kite" rises from this star.
Notable stars:
First up, we have to mention Alpha Bootes, Arcturus. Arcturus is the 4th brightest star in the sky and the brightest star north of the celestial equator. Arcturus is 20 million miles in diameter, roughly 25 times the diameter of the Sun and is the bright star at the base of the constellation. Distance is 37 light years and magnitude 0.05
Epsilon Bootes, also known as Izar, is a beautiful double star made up of a mag 2.5 primary and a mag 5.0 secondary star. The pair have beautifully contrasting colors of yellow and green. Izar is the bright star midway up the left side of the constellation.
Notable objects:
NGC 5859
This galaxy is a long way away and has a magnitude of 13.2 It has a close companion, NGC 5857. Best seen with 12 inch scopes or larger.
NGC 5248
NGC 5248. This beautiful galaxy has a bright core which you'll instantly see, and some interesting spiral arms, Anything less than about 8" shouldn't expose much of the arms - just a haze around a stellar core. But with an 8" or larger you'll see a beautiful structure. Magnitude is 10.2.
NGC 5669
NGC 5669 is a faint spiral galaxy with a little elongation in the middle. The low surface brightness is best seen with inverted image. Magnitude is 11.6.
colliding worlds
credits:
Bootes map: Wikipedia
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Bootes_constellation_map.png
Bootes text: utaskies
www.utahskies.org/deepsky/constellations/bootes.html
images: NGC 5859
www.spiral-galaxies.com/Galaxies-Bootes.html
Image: NGC 5669,5248,5676 - cosmo
cosmo.nyu.edu/hogg/rc3/