Star profile
Xi Boötis
Variable starWhat is Xi Boötis
Xi Boötis is one of the Herdsman's closest stars: barely 22 light-years separate us from this yellow type G sun, practically a cosmic stone's throw. Its variable surface stems from intense magnetic activity, much like solar spots but fiercer, and it forms a visual pair with a small orange dwarf that follows it closely. In the nineteenth century William Herschel already gauged the slow turning of this celebrated pair.
Where it is and when to see it
Xi 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: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.
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The signature wall
Stelvia's sky works like a signature wall: anyone can leave their name and a message on a real star, and that signature goes up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.
A signature without a lock can be replaced by someone else's. The lock makes the signature permanent and lets you choose a symbolic name for the star, always shown next to the star's catalogue identifier. How the lock works
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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 Xi Boötis
- Constellation
- Boötes
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.54
- Distance
- 21.9 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 222.847° · Dec 19.100°
- Catalogue
- HIP 72659 · HD 131156
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
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
- Tau Boötis4.50
- Psi Boötis4.52
- Kappa 2 Boötis4.53
- Omicron Boötis4.60
- Iota Boötis4.75