Arcturus
The brightest star in the northern half of the sky, an orange giant late in its life.
Tonight from
Rise, highest point and set are worked out on your device for the place above.
What it is
- Brightness
- Magnitude −0.05, the 3rd brightest star in the night sky
- Distance
- 37 light years
- Kind of star
- Orange giant, spectral type K2 III
- Light it gives out
- About 120 times the Sun’s, in visible light
- Constellation
- Boötes, where it is α Boötis
- Catalogue number
- HIP 69673
Figures from HYG database 4.1 (Hipparcos, Yale Bright Star and Gliese catalogues), CC BY-SA 4.0. All sources
Near it in the sky
- M 3A globular cluster in Canes Venatici, about a fist away.
- Black Eye GalaxyA galaxy in Coma Berenices, about a hand span away.
- M 5A globular cluster in Serpens, about a hand span away.
- Virgo AA galaxy in Virgo, about a hand span away.
- Coma Star ClusterAn open cluster in Coma Berenices, about a hand span away.