What is the Bootes constellation?
He Bootes (Boyero according to the Latin terminology of the International Astronomical Union) is one of the 88 modern constellations, which was already on the list of the 48 Ptolemaic constellations. The easiest way to find this constellation in the sky is by extending the line formed by the stars in the tail of Ursa Major. In this constellation is a deep sky object NGC 5466. The galaxies in this constellation are small and dim. It has about 90 stars observable with the naked eye. Highlights are Arcturus, the third brightest star in the night sky.
The Big Dipper (Ursa Major) is a boreal constellation. The most prominent asterism of the Big Dipper is the set of seven stars popularly called «the big car», shaped like a car or a ladle, four stars form the box and three, the tail. The tail of the car makes a curve that points Arthur (α Bootis) which is the brightest star in the Boyero constellation.
History and mythology Bootes
The Boyero It is closely associated with the myth of the bears (Ursa Major and Ursa Minor). If they are considered as chariots, or as bears, Boötes takes on the personality of the Bover (driver of a cart drawn by oxen), or the guardian of the bears. For the Arabs Boötes would be a spearman. Be that as it may, Boötes is usually associated with a protective and vigilant figure, which would suggest a previous myth common to all the others. For the Sumerians this constellation is the representation of Enlil, son of the sky god, Anu. Enlil had the Table of Destiny, through which the destinies of men and gods were decreed. It was the only important Mesopotamian constellation that did not belong to those inscribed or close to the Path of the Moon.
Bootes It is a constellation linked to bears. Ancient legends confirm the fact that it is located near Polaris, so it would be the man who supports the sky (Atlantean). The groups of seven daughters of him would be the small constellations of seven stars: the Hesperides (Ursa Minor), the Hyades (the horns of the current constellation of Taurus) and the Pleiades (currently also in the constellation of Taurus). Today Bootes is said to be the «Guardian of the Bears«. A second version of this myth considers it to be the giant Geryon, from which the name given to the constellation would come: Bootesaccompanied, in modern times, by hunting dogs.