The Kite of Boötes

The outline of the constellation Boötes looks more like a kite or an ice cream cone then a herdsman. There are over 54 stars in this constellation, only 8 of them can be easily seen with a naked eye and 6 of them can be easily seen from a city. The brightest star in Boötes is called Arcturus, above are 5 bright stars that make the body of the kite, traveling counterclockwise their names are Rho Boötis, Seginus, Nekkar, Princeps and Izar, the 2 bright stars that are hanging off either side of Arcturus are Muphrid and Zeta Boötis.

Stars

Arcturus

Arcturus is the brightest star in the constellation of Boötes, the fourth-brightest in the night sky, and the brightest in the northern hemisphere. The name Arcturus means “guardian of the bear” in Ancient Greek. The star is located at the left foot of the Herdsman, the one standing next to the bear constellations, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. To look for Arcturus, simply locate the Big Dipper asterism in the northeastern sky. Then draw an imaginary line following the curve or arc in the Dipper's handle until it come to this star.

Izar (Pulcherrima)

Izar is the 2nd brightest star in the constellation of Boötes despite being epsilon. It is a binary star system that can be viewed with the naked eye, but resolving the pair with a small telescope is challenging; an aperture of 76 mm or greater is required. Like Albireo and Theta Tauri, one star is orange while the other is blue. The name "Izar" comes from the Arabic word for "girdle" or "loincloth", referring to its location in the constellation. Some people call this star Pulcherrima and it comes from the Latin phrase for "most beautiful", referring to its contrasting colors in a telescope.

Muphrid

Muphrid is the 3rd brightest star in the constellation of Boötes despite being eta. It is one of a somewhat unusual breed of "super metal rich" stars. It means "the single one of the lancer". It is located close to Arcturus in the sky, only 3.24 light years farther than Arcturus.

Seginus

Seginus is the 4th brightest star in the constellation of Boötes despite being gamma. It means 'the reaper' because it comes from an old name for the entire constellation of Boötes.

Princeps

Princeps is the 5th brightest star in the constellation of Boötes despite being delta, it means prince or prime in Latin.

Nekkar

Nekkar is the 6th brightest star in the constellation of Boötes despite being beta, the name Nekkar derives from a mis-transliteration of the Arabic word for “cattle driver.”

Rho Boötis

Rho Boötis is the 7th brightest star in the constellation of Boötes despite being rho, there is no official name for this star.

Zeta Boötis

Zeta Boötis is the 8th brightest star in the constellation of Boötes despite being zeta, there is no official name for this star.