Constellation Chart

Bootes is known as the protector of the Bear (Ursa Major) because of being on the tracks of the Great Bear, accompanied by two dogs (the Canes Venatici). The constellation includes a major star of Arcturus, alpha Bootis. The star is easily found out by following the sweep of the Big Dipper's handle, and the curve takes you to an another bright star of Spica in south sky, alpha Virginis. The curve across the night sky in spring from the Big Dipper to Spica called "The Spring's Great Curve". Arcturus is the brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere and the third brightest in all of the heavens with a magnitude of -0.1 and a color of orange. Arcturus means "Guardian of the Bear", and has a name of the wheat star in Japan because the star is seen at zenith when the wheat is harvested in late spring.

Galaxies In Bootes

NGC 5248

This is a small-scaled bared galaxy of NGC5248 floating around south west of Bootes near the boundary on Virgo. The galaxy has a long axis of 6 arc minutes and an apparent brightness of 10th magnitude. This picture shows you two undeveloped arms are stretching in east west direction. But the galaxy shows you a simple lump of dimmed light through large-scaled telescopes. And it's considered that NGC5248 is a member galaxy of the Virgo Cluster though it's lying considerably distant field.

NGC 5676

Spiral Galaxy NGC5676(mag10.9). Don't let this photo fool you. This galaxy compares well with the previous galaxy. It's a little smaller and ends up having a slightly higher surface brightness. So... the amount of detail should be quite similar. You'll notice that this galaxy has no bright stellar core. It's central region is less pronounced, but seems to extend further. The arms also seem to show less structure.

NGC 5689

NGC 5689, a Herschel 400 spiral galaxy that resides in northern Bootes, is spindle-shaped and is elongated in an east-west direction. It forms a triangle with two field stars. NGC 5689 has a somewhat bright stellar core and was not particularly hard to detect despite what the Herschel 400 manual has to say about it ("elusive, difficult to see, faint with a slight elongation noted"). In fact, the NSOG gives it a **** rating.

Planetary Bodies Found In NGC 5557

NGC 5557

NGC5557. Galaxy in Bootes. Very small. Round. Dim. Pinpoint stellar core. Not much detail. The object in the outer part of this galaxy seems to be a planetary star or a large planetary body I have call this planetary Object Bootes B for now it was discovered the 31 december 2004 by Wingmaker 732 in the bootes Constellation.

Globular Cluster In Bootes

NGC5466

NGC5466 is a very dimmed globular cluster in west region of Bootes. It's difficult to catch the globular cluster with finder scopes, you can use a way of searching that firstly find out a bright globular cluster of M3 in Canes Venatici, and next tracing about 5 degrees east from M3. NGC5466 has a visual magnitude of 10, you might need over 4 inch telescopes to detect it clearly. The globular has fairly sparse stellar density; long exposed films can easily resolve member stars around central region. This star field is very far from the Milky Way, and a distance of the globular is estimated about 47 thousand light years. The globular cluster is positioned apart from the galactic disk, to say, lying at a remote region of the Galaxy.

Planetary Destinations In Bootes

Tau Bootis

Tau Bootis Planetary System

Tau Bootis, on the border between fourth and fifth magnitude, has been classed both as an F6 subgiant and an F7 dwarf. At a distance of 51 light years, it shines with triple the solar luminosity. Warmer than the Sun, as befits its class, the surface temperature lies between 6440 and 6550 Kelvin, and probably closer to the latter. Its higher luminosity and temperature show it to have a radius 1.4 times solar and a mass 30 percent larger than the Sun. Subgiant status implies that the star is nearing the end of its hydrogen-fusing life, but age measurements suggest otherwise, that the star is only about 1.3 billion years old. About a third of the way through its normal life, the star must therefore still be a dwarf. Tau Bootis is suspected of being a slight variable with a magnitude range of under 10 percent, which would make it unusual among stars with planets. More unusual, Tau Bootis has a distant companion, a red (class M2) dwarf that orbits far outside the "planetary system" (if indeed there is an actual "system") at an average distance of 250 astronomical units with a 2000 year revolutionary period. (From Earth, the separation is now around 5 seconds of arc.) The orbit is highly elliptical, the star coming as close as 22 astronomical units and going out as far as 470. The "double sun" would present quite a sight from a hypothetical earth orbiting Tau Bootis proper. Even at the average distance it would shine with the brilliance of 16 Venuses; at its closest, it would glower redly with that of a dozen full Moons.

Boötis 44

This triple star system is located about 41.6 light-years (ly) away from our Sun, Sol. It lies in the northwestern part (15:3:47.3+47:39:14.6, ICRS 2000.0) of Constellation Boötes, the Herdsman or Bear Driver -- north of Nekkar (Beta Boötis), east of Lamda Boötis, northeast of Seginus (Gamma Boötis), southwest of Edasich (Iota Draconis), southeast of Theta Boötis and Alkaid (Eta Ursae Majoris), and west of Tau and Nu Herculis. The "star" was noted to be variable in 1785 by Sir William Herschel (1738-1822), who was born Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel. According to Robert Burnham, Jr. (1931-93), the system was confirmed to be a visual binary in 1832 by Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve (1793-1864). In 1926, the fainter component itself was found to be an eclipsing binary by Jan Schilt by photographic observations, which had already been suspected from a spectrum that showed rotationally broadened absorption lines. The system has the variable star designation i Boötis and is often confused with Iota Boötis, a Delta-Scuti-type variable star of spectral and luminosity type A9 V.

Epsilon (e) Bootis (Izar)

A nice pair, but can be difficult to resolve in small apertures. The K0 giant of magnitude 2.7, and its A2 main sequence companion of magnitude 5.1 can be split with a medium aperture and good optics. The two stars orbit each other every 153 years. Pale yellow & light blue.

HD 128311

Parent Star: HD 128311 (K0 V) in the constellation of booties is located at a distance of 54.14 Light Years from our Solar system Co-ordinates of Right Ascension: 06 04 29.9431 & Declination: +44 15 37.599. The apparent Magnitude of the star is 7.48. The Inner Edge of Habitability Zone is 0.26 AU & the Outer Edge of Habitability Zone: 0.82 AU and the estimated stellar lifespan of the star is 19531 million years. Orbiting around Star HD 128311 are two planetary bodies HD 128311b and HD 128311c.

HD 128311b the planet is believed to be a Water Cloud Jovian, Eccentric planet and its exitence has been confirmed. The planets appearance is White water ice clouds and the planet passes through the edge of Habitability Zone at Mean Orbital Distance estimated radius of the planet is 1.034 Jupiters 1. The planet Orbits around the star every 420.514 Days and was discovered by Butler et al on 13 Jun 2002.

HD 128311c the planet is believed to be a Jupiter-twin planet and its exitence has been confirmed. The planets appearance is White ammonia and water ice clouds, brown hydrocarbon stains and the planet orbits out side of the Habitability Zone at Mean Orbital Distance of 1.76 ± 0.13 AU estimated radius of the planet is 1.038 Jupiters 1. The planet Orbits around the star every 919 Days and was discovered by VOGT S., BUTLER P., MARCY G., FISCHER D., HENRY G., LAUGHLIN G., WRIGHT J. & JOHNSON A. in 2005.