Star profile

3 Boötis

3D likeness based on its real data · class F · ~6,500 K

What is 3 Boötis

3 Boötis is a yellow-white F-type star in the Herdsman, the constellation of the shepherd who pursues the Bears around the pole. Slightly hotter than the Sun, it shines from nearly three hundred light-years away. Its light departed when Velázquez was painting at the court of Philip IV and Europe was being torn between religious wars.

Where it is and when to see it

3 Boötis lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is April, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it culminates about 64° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 75° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 30° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 64° S.

It ranks no. 83 in brightness among the 88 stars of Boötes in our catalogue. To find it, start from Arcturus, the brightest: it lies about 9° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 290 years ago.

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Astronomical data for 3 Boötis

Constellation: Boötes
Apparent magnitude: 5.97
Distance: 292.6 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 206.681° · Dec 25.702°
Catalogue: HIP 67239 · HD 120064

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Other stars in Boötes

Boötes has 88 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 88 stars in Boötes