Constellation Feature: Boötes the Shepard

Boötes and Canes Venatici

Boötes the Shepard (Pronounced "boo-OH-tays") is one of the original 48 constellations defined by Ptolemy. Throughout ancient history Boötes has been associated with various people in Greek mythology.  Sometimes he is portrayed holding the Canes Venatici, the hunting dogs and chasing the Great Bear across the sky. The proximity of Boötes to Ursa Major and Minor has lead him to be associated with these constellations.

"The Kite" is a shape that can be
made out of the stars of Boötes.

To find Boötes, it is easiest to start with the Big Dipper which is a piece of Ursa Major. The Dipper is a few degrees north west of being overhead at this time of year. The shape of the "handle" of the Dipper is an "arc." If you trace the arc you can "arc to Arcturus."

Canes Venatici, the hunting dogs, are tricky to spot because they don't contain any particularly bright stars. They are worth finding because there are several interesting deep sky objects here.

Arcturus (alpha Boötis) is the fourth brightest star in the entire night sky. The name of this star means "guardian of the bears." It is one of the first stars visible after sunset in the early Summer sky. Arcturus is about 25 times the radius of our own sun and is known as an orange giant star.

There are some well known deep sky objects near Boötes. With binoculars you can spot Messier 3, a beautiful globular cluster to the east of Boötes. Those with medium sized teloscopes can find M51 the famous Whirlpool Galaxy. If you're looking for something a little more difficult to find, look for M101 the Pinwheel Galaxy. For a real challenge search for some of the other galaxies in Canes Venatici and Coma Bernices (represented by blue ovals).

Messier 3 is a Globular Cluster. It can be seen with binoculars,
but is best enjoyed through a telescope.
There are about 500,000 stars in this 8 million year old cluster.
Photo Credit: Robert J. Vanderbei

The Whirlpool Galaxy is famous for its nearly perfect spiral shape.
It is a great target for amateur telescope users
because it is fairly easy to find and is very bright.
Photo Credit: http://hubblesite.org/

The Pinwheel Galaxy is also spiral galaxy
but isn't as bright as the Whirlpool. It is twice the size of our
Milky Way and is 25 million light years away.
Photo Credit: http://hubblesite.org/

The Travelers ScienceDome Planetarium a
part of The Children's Museum in West Hartford, CT.