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Bootes

Bootes

1 9.9
A group of stars in the northern sky near the Big Dipper, with the bright star Arcturus
  • proper noun
  • /ˈbuːtiːz/
  • Literature
: Bootes
  • Astronomers often identify Bootes by the bright star Arcturus, which is part of this constellation.
  • Bootes the Herdsman
  • constellation Bootes
  • northern Bootes

Examples

  • When stargazing, you can spot Bootes located to the southeast of the Big Dipper.

  • On this plate, Bootes is shown holding the leash of the hunting dogs, Canes Venatici.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Bothun's student, Gregory Aldering, is making a survey of the largest known void, beyond the constellation of Bootes, with a diameter of some 300 million light years, to find out just how empty it really is.

    Academic text (1991)
  • In the night sky, Bootes, the Herdsman, watches over the stars around Ursa Major.

Surface Forms

Bootes main

Etymology

The word Bootes comes from an old Greek name Boōtēs, which means 'herdsman' and comes from bous 'cow' or 'ox'. So the constellation Bootes is remembered as a man who looks after animals in the sky, which is why it is often shown as a herdsman.