Article
Article
Bootes
Article By:
Pasachoff, Jay M. Hopkins Observatory, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts.
Last reviewed:November 2019
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.090700
The Herdsman, a constellation perhaps linked in mythology with the invention of the plow, though no specific Greek myth is associated with the name. The herdsman can be thought of holding Canes Venatici, the Hunting Dogs, and using them to drive Ursa Major, the Great Bear. The kite-shaped outline often given to the brightest stars of this northern constellation (see illustration) is linked to the kite's string by Arcturus, a red giant and the fourth brightest star in the sky (the second brightest in the northern sky). The arc of the Big Dipper's handle leads to Arcturus: “arc to Arcturus.” See also: Arcturus; Ursa Major
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