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Hawaiian Astronomical SocietyConstellations: Boötes -- Hunter of his Mother, or Inventor of the Plough? |
Booetes itself comes from the Greek, meaning "ox driver." Not just any ox driver, of course, but the first one who thought of attaching a plough to his ox, thus making farming a lot easier. The gods rewarded him with a place in the sky for his efforts.
Thus, we picture Booetes in two ways: First, hunting his mother, Ursa Major, with the aid of his dogs. Second, ploughing the sky with the help of the Big Dipper, known in some areas as the Plough. Unfortunately, we don't know where his ox is.
Click the map for a 909x1199 version of the above. Click here for a map better suited for use in the field.
This a more detailed view of the constellation. The map displays stars to magnitude 10, and deepsky objects to magnitude 12. Click here for a map better suited for use in the field.
Click here for a map better suited for use in the field.
Click here for a map better suited for use in the field.
73k JPEG NGC5248 (Caldwell 45) is a bright (mag. 10.7), large (6.8'x5'), elongated (P.A. 110°), spiral galaxy with a bright core. Larger scopes should look for the bright patch of nebulosity in a bright lens. Also, several dark lanes. You find it in the far south-west corner of the constellation, and in the bottom, left of the picture. IC900 is the mag. 13.8 spiral galaxy in the upper, right. Many other galaxies inhabit the picture.
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