JAMES: WELCOME TO STAR GAZERS.

I'M JAMES ALBURY, DIRECTOR OF THE KIKA SILVA
PLA PLANETARIUM IN GAINESVILLE FLORIDA.

DEAN: AND I'M DEAN REGAS, ASTRONOMER FROM
THE CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY.

JAMES: SPRINGTIME IS KNOWN FOR GREAT KITE-FLYING
WEATHER.

AND COINCIDENTALLY, THERE IS A CONSTELLATION
VISIBLE AFTER SUNSET THAT LOOKS SURPRISINGLY

LIKE A KITE!

DEAN: THAT'S RIGHT, JAMES.

THIS WEEK WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE CONSTELLATION
BOOTES THE HERDSMAN, AND GIVE YOU SOME INFORMATION

ABOUT SOME OF ITS BRIGHTEST STARS.

JAMES: LET'S SHOW YOU!

JAMES: OK, WE HAVE OUR SKY SET FOR AN HOUR
AFTER SUNSET FACING NORTHEAST WHERE WE SEE

THE BIG DIPPER HIGH ABOVE THE NORTH STAR.

IF ITS CUP WAS FULL OF WATER IT'D BE POURING
RIGHT INTO THE LITTLE DIPPER AND OVERFLOWING

ONTO ME!

DEAN: IF WE SHOOT AN ARROW THROUGH THE TWO
STARS ON THE END OF THE BIG DIPPER'S CUP,

AND CONTINUE THAT LINE, IT'LL RUN SMACK DAB
INTO THE NORTH STAR.

JAMES: NOW, LET'S USE THE BIG DIPPERS HANDLE
TO FIND BOOTES.

SIMPLY DRAW AN IMAGINARY LINE THROUGH THE
HANDLE OF THE BIG DIPPER AND EXTEND IT OUT

ALONG THE CURVE, OR ARC, AND YOU'LL ARC YOUR
WAY TO THE BRIGHT STAR, ARCTURUS.

DEAN: ARCTURUS IS THE BRIGHTEST STAR IN BOOTES
THE HERDSMAN AND HAS THE UNIQUE DISTINCTION

OF BEING THE FOURTH BRIGHTEST STAR IN THE
NIGHT SKY; THE BRIGHTEST STAR IS SIRIUS, #2

IS CANOPUS AND #3 IS ALPHA CENTAURI.

JAMES: JOHANN BAYER USED GREEK LETTERS (ALPHA
THROUGH OMEGA, AND THEN A THROUGH K TO LABEL

THE 35 MOST PROMINENT STARS IN BOOTES.

JOHN FLAMSTEED LATER INCREASED THIS NUMBER
TO 54 STARS.

DEAN: GOOD LUCK FINDING ALL THOSE STARS WITHOUT
A SUPER DARK SKY!

NEVERTHELESS, EIGHT OF THOSE STARS ARE EASILY
VISIBLE TO THE NAKED EYE, AND THE SIX BRIGHTEST

ONES ARE EVEN VISIBLE FROM A CITY.

JAMES: THOSE STARS FORM A KITE-SHAPED PATTERN.

THEIR NAMES, TRAVELING COUNTER-CLOCKWISE FROM
ARCTURUS ARE: RHO BOOTIS, SEGINUS, NEKKAR,

DELTA BOOTIS AND IZAR.

THE TWO STARS HANGING OFF EITHER SIDE OF ARCTURUS,
MAKING A TAIL FOR THE KITE, ARE MUPHRID (TO

THE WEST) AND ZETA BOOTIS (TOWARD THE EAST).

DEAN: ARCTURUS GOT ITS NAME FROM AN ANCIENT
GREEK WORD THAT MEANT GUARDIAN OF THE BEAR.

THIS MAKES SENSE SINCE THE CONSTELLATION OF
BOOTES IS RIGHT NEXT TO URSA MAJOR, THE GREAT

BEAR.

JAMES: ARCTURUS IS ALMOST 37 LIGHT YEARS AWAY
FROM US AND IS A RED GIANT STAR ABOUT 110

TIMES BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN.

IT IS ALSO ESTIMATED TO BE SLIGHTLY LARGER
(MASS-WISE) THAN THE SUN, AND BETWEEN 6 BILLION

AND 8.5 BILLION YEARS OLD.

DEAN: POLYNESIAN NAVIGATORS CALLED ARCTURUS
HO-KU-LEA, THE

STAR OF JOY. AND FROM HAWAII, ARCTURUS BECAME
KNOWN AS THE ZENITH STAR, BECAUSE IT PASSES

ALMOST DIRECTLY OVERHEAD (AS SEEN FROM HAWAII),
NEAR MIDNIGHT IN THE LAST FEW DAYS OF APRIL.

JAMES: AND IF YOU LIKE ASTERISMS, WE HAVE
A SPRING TRIANGLE TO SHOW YOU, USING ARCTURUS,

REGULUS AND SPICA.

REGULUS IS THE BRIGHTEST STAR IN LEO THE LION.

YOU CAN FIND IT USING THE TWO STARS MEGREZ
AND PHECDA, WHICH ARE IN THE BOWL OF THE BIG

DIPPER, CLOSEST TO THE HANDLE.

DEAN: BY DRAWING A LINE FROM MEGREZ THROUGH
PHECDA, YOU WILL EVENTUALLY RUN INTO THE HEAD

OF LEO THE LION, WHICH RESEMBLES A BACKWARDS
QUESTION MARK; THE DOT OF THE QUESTION MARK

IS REGULUS.

JAMES: THE NEXT STAR, SPICA, IS EASY TO FIND
USING OUR ARC TO ARCTURUS TRICK.

BY CONTINUING THE LINE FROM THE BIG DIPPER'S
HANDLE, THROUGH ARCTURUS, YOULL SPEED OVER

TO SPICA, THE BRIGHTEST STAR IN VIRGO THE
MAIDEN.

DEAN: SO BY DRAWING A LINE FROM REGULUS, TO
SPICA AND OVER TO ARCTURUS, YOU CAN MAKE THE

SPRING TRIANGLE.

NOW GRANTED, IT IS A BIG TRIANGLE.

JAMES: AND FOR YOU PLANET WATCHERS, JUPITER
IS IN A GREAT LOCATION NOT FAR FROM SPICA.

IT IS JUST TO THE WEST OF SPICA AND THROUGH
A SMALL TELESCOPE YOU CAN SEE ITS FOUR LARGEST

MOONS; IO, EUROPA, GANYMEDE AND CALLISTO.

DEAN: JUPITER AND EARTH WERE AT THEIR CLOSEST
LAST WEEK, SO JUPITER SHOULD STILL LOOK IMPRESSIVE,

EVEN IN A SMALL TELESCOPE.

DEAN: SO, GET OUTSIDE AND CHECK OUT THE KITE-SHAPED
CONSTELLATION OF BOOTES THE HERDSMAN WITH

ITS BRIGHT STAR ARCTURUS

JAMES: AND SEE IF YOU CAN SPOT THE SPRING
TRIANGLE AND THE KING OF THE PLANETS, JUPITER!

DEAN: IT'S ALL THEIR WAITING FOR YOU WHEN
YOU

BOTH: KEEP LOOKING UP!