Boötes the Herdsman

constellation · northern sky · mythology

A starry farmer. Boötes is a constellation named after an ancient Greek herdsman or plowman. The name comes straight from the Greek word Boṓtēs, which means someone who tends to cattle and fields.

Found in the north. You can find Boötes in the northern part of the night sky, positioned between certain star coordinates that astronomers use like a map. It sits between 0 and 60 degrees declination and 13 to 16 hours of right ascension on the celestial sphere.

Easy to spot. Boötes is actually one of the easier constellations to locate if you know where to look. Many stargazers enjoy finding this pattern of stars and imagining the ancient farmer standing in the night sky.