Star profile
Sigma Boötis
What is Sigma Boötis
Sigma Boötis is another close neighbour, just over fifty light-years away. An F-type star slightly hotter than the Sun, it spins rapidly on itself —a habit shared by many young stars of its class. It joins the wide arc traced by the celestial herdsman around Arcturus, the deep red lord of mild evenings.
Where it is and when to see it
Sigma 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 68° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 79° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 26° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 60° S.
It ranks no. 13 in brightness among the 88 stars of Boötes in our catalogue. To find it, start from Arcturus, the brightest: it lies about 11° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 52 years ago.
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A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.
Astronomical data for Sigma Boötis
- Constellation
- Boötes
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.47
- Distance
- 51.6 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 218.670° · Dec 29.745°
- Catalogue
- HIP 71284 · HD 128167
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Other stars in Boötes
Boötes has 88 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- ArcturusAlpha Boötis-0.05
- IzarEpsilon Boötis2.35
- MuphridEta Boötis2.68
- Upsilon Boötis4.05
- XuangeLambda Boötis4.18
- AlkaluropsMu 1 Boötis4.31
- Pi 1 Boötis4.49
- Tau Boötis4.50