Star profile

Omicron Boötis

3D likeness based on its real data · class K · ~4,200 K

What is Omicron Boötis

In Boötes, the figure of a herdsman that drives the Wagon around the pole, this orange giant shines from 243 light-years away. Its warm light is the signature of a star now in the phase where helium ignites slowly at its core — a transition every Sun-like star will eventually face. It lies far from dazzling Arcturus, in a secondary corner of the constellation, where the unaided eye barely finds it as a discreet amber point against the dark.

Where it is and when to see it

Omicron 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 55° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 66° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 39° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 73° S.

It ranks no. 19 in brightness among the 88 stars of Boötes in our catalogue. To find it, start from Arcturus, the brightest: it lies about 7° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 240 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Omicron Boötis

Constellation: Boötes
Apparent magnitude: 4.60
Distance: 243.1 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 221.310° · Dec 16.964°
Catalogue: HIP 72125 · HD 129972

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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