Star profile

40 Boötis

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

What is 40 Boötis

40 Boötis is a yellow-white F-type star about 168 light-years away, slightly hotter and brighter than the Sun. Its light left around 1858, as the first transatlantic telegraph cable was being completed and the human voice began to leap the ocean. It inhabits the discreet regions of the Herdsman, far from the orange presence of Arcturus, like a pale beacon on the shepherd's back.

Where it is and when to see it

40 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 never sets and culminates about 78° up.
From New York it culminates about 89° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 17° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 51° S.

It ranks no. 56 in brightness among the 88 stars of Boötes in our catalogue. To find it, start from Arcturus, the brightest: it lies about 22° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 170 years ago.

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Astronomical data for 40 Boötis

Constellation: Boötes
Apparent magnitude: 5.64
Distance: 168.0 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 224.904° · Dec 39.265°
Catalogue: HIP 73369 · HD 132772

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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