Star profile
50 Boötis
Hot blue starWhat is 50 Boötis
50 Boötis is a blue-white B9 main-sequence star roughly 275 light-years away, set within Boötes the Herdsman. It is one of the warmest pinpoints in a constellation otherwise dominated by the orange glow of Arcturus. Magnitude 5.38 places it on the edge of unaided vision; light pollution erases it without trace. It drifts slowly toward the Sun at about nine kilometres per second, a quiet northbound traveller.
Where it is and when to see it
50 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 71° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 82° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 23° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 57° S.
It ranks no. 40 in brightness among the 88 stars of Boötes in our catalogue. To find it, start from Arcturus, the brightest: it lies about 20° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 260 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 50 Boötis
- Constellation
- Boötes
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.38
- Distance
- 262.0 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 230.452° · Dec 32.934°
- Catalogue
- HIP 75178 · HD 136849
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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
- 13 Boötis5.26
- Chi Boötis5.28
- 15 Boötis5.29
- 33 Boötis5.39
- 22 Boötis5.40