Deemed to be the guardian of the Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, Arcturus is just as bright as beautiful!This red or orange-colored star is thought to have formed in a distant galaxy that collided with the Milky Way somewhere down its lifetime! Arcturus is the brightest star in the Boötes constellation and the fourth brightest star in the night sky.Arcturus is a yellow giant star that is about 36 light-years from Earth. It has an apparent magnitude of −0.05, meaning it is just barely visible to the naked eye on a clear night. Arcturus was once believed to be the most distant object visible to the naked eye, but this record has since been broken by several stars. Arcturus is still one of the most distant objects that can be seen without optical aid.This star has been part of many ancient myths and mythologies around the world due to its easy visibility. Arcturus is recognized in Sanskrit, Chinese astronomy as well as in the native mythologies of Australia. Therefore, it is easily understood that this star has been visible for a long time. Because of how easily this star is visible from the Earth, it has also helped in navigation during ancient times. The star was even given godly status in ancient Mesopotamia and was associated with the God Enlil.One of the rather interesting facts about this star is the possibility that the name ‘Arthur’ was derived from Arcturus. Some historians also seem to believe that not only was the name prevalent from the times of Homer but even King Arthur was named after the star itself!Where is the Arcturus star in the sky?Arcturus is located in the Boötes constellation.Arcturus can be seen in the Northern Hemisphere during the summer and fall months. In the Southern Hemisphere, Arcturus is visible during the winter and spring months. In fact, the appearance of this star in the northern hemisphere also acts as a sign that spring is around the corner! If you are wondering where this star is located, you can find its location to be exactly 19 degrees north of the celestial equator. Even though it is not the closest star to Earth, this K1.5IIIFe-0.5 type star is clearly visible.Being one of the brightest stars in the night sky, it is hardly surprising that cultures around the world have myths around this red giant star. The star Arcturus of the Boötes constellation is believed to have come from a different galaxy. The fact that this star was not originally a part of the Milky Way is suggested through its motion. Arcturus actually moves perpendicular to the Milky Way disk, which is why scientists believe that Arcturus or Alpha boötis was a part of another dwarf galaxy that collided with the Milky Way. Whether this is true or not cannot be confirmed as yet but the fact remains that Arcturus is one of the very brightest stars in the Northern Hemisphere!What constellation is the Arcturus star in?The Arcturus star is a part of the constellation named Boötes. This constellation is one of the 88 that we know of in the modern world.Being a part of such a significant constellation also makes this star easy to find in the Earth’s sky if people know where and what they should be looking for. In order to find the red giant Arcturus star, you will have to draw an imaginary arc from the handle of the Big Dipper. Through this imaginary arc, you will be able to spot the brightest orange giant star of the constellation Boötes, called Arcturus.Arcturus is also a part of the Arcturus stream, which is a group of 52 stars. It is suggested through the proper motion of these stars and their traits that they are in fact remnants from a dwarf galaxy that was formed in the humongous galactic halo of the Milky Way. However, not all stars of the Arcturus stream are red giants. It must also be kept in mind that Arcturus may have a companion star as well. In this case, Arcturus would be proved to be a binary star.Features Of The Arcturus StarArcturus star’s light is brightest in the north of the celestial equator due to the basic fact that it has a visual magnitude of -0.05. If you are thinking of a reason why this status is not shared by Alpha Centauri, it is because Alpha Centauri gets its light from the entire system and would not have great visibility through the naked eye!The Arcturus star is around 7.1 billion years old and as it is slowly consuming the helium, it is also increasing in size. This star is also larger than the star of our solar system, that is, the sun. Arcturus is about 26 times bigger than our sun and has a luminosity that would be at least 100 times as much as the center point of our own solar system. This is why, in spite of being 36.7 light-years away from the sun, this star is extremely bright and is easily visible.The future of this star is also assumed to be quite sad. As the helium of the star is being consumed, it will soon start losing its outer layers which will eventually result in a supernova explosion. When this happens, Arcturus will turn into a white dwarf star and will probably have a planetary nebula around itself!The name of this star can be translated to ‘Bear Guardian’. This is because the ancient Greeks believed this star to be the guardian of the Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. We cannot deny some merit to this theory, since Arcturus is actually positioned in such a way!One of the most interesting facts about this star is that it is the only star apart from the sun which is visible clearly in the daytime as well. Not only this but the star can also be spotted right around sunset as well. When looking for this star, keep in mind that it culminates around April 27 each year!Distance Of The Arcturus Star From EarthSince this star is moving away, Arcturus will not be visible to the people on Earth in the next million years. At present, Arcturus is around 36.7 light-years away from the sun and around 36.6 light-years away from Earth.The Arcturus star is around 11 million mi (18 million km) in terms of radius and has a mass that would measure up to be 1.1 times as much as the sun. It is also quite interesting to note that the brightest star in the constellation Boötes is cooler than the sun. Its temperature is only about 73% as hot as the temperatures on the sun! The two stars are therefore quite different!It is believed that Arcturus will be closest to the sun in about 4000 years! We will all be long gone by then, but our future generations might have some beautiful spectacles lined out for them!
Deemed to be the guardian of the Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, Arcturus is just as bright as beautiful!
