| Home > Stars > Non-Contrast Multiple Stars > Zeta Boötis |
Zeta (ζ) Boötis
Multiple Star System
| Right Ascension | 14h 41m 08s | Best Seen | 4/15 - 8/15 |
| Declination | 13° 43' 42" | Combined Magnitude | 3.78 |
| Apparent Separation | 1" | Constellation | Boötes |
Actual |
Compared to Sun |
|
| Distance | 180 ly | -- |
| Separation | ~ 3.1 billion miles | ~ 33 au |
| Orbital Period | ~ 120 years | -- |
| Actual Brightness | -- | 37 / 36 |
| Magnitude | 4.53 / 4.58 | -- |
| Mass | -- | -- |
| Surface Gravity | -- | -- |
| Surface Composition (by mass) | 74% hydrogen 24% helium 2% everything else |
same |
| Spectral Type | A3 IV n / A2 V | G2 V |
| Density (gram/cubic cm) | -- | -- |
What To Look For Through The Telescope
-
Recommended eyepiece: 24mm or 40 mm.
-
When people look through the telescope they should see two stars next to each other. One star should be slightly brighter than the other.
Zeta Boötis Information:
-
The orbits of these stars could set a record: the orbits are very elongated.
a. At their farthest, the stars are about 60 AU’s apart; at their closest, they’re about 1.5 AU’s apart, about as close as Mars to the Sun.
b. At close passage, the individual stars cannot be resolved – that happened last in 1897, and will happen again in 2021.
c. At their farthest separation, they can be resolved – the best view will be in 2082.
-
This large eccentricity could be the result of a violent encounter with another star, but it’s impossible to know.
| Home > Stars > Non-Contrast Multiple Stars > Zeta Boötis | top |
References
| Item | Updated | Notes |
| Coordinates | 2002-11-08 | updated with SIMBAD |
| Combined Magnitude | 2002-11-08 | previously: 4.60 – now matches Scott’s The Flamsteed Collection |
| Apparent Separation | 2002-11-08 | previously: 7" – NO idea where that came from: coordinates are identical in RA, DEC is only different 1" |
| Distance | 2002-11-08 | previously: 88 ly – BUT Flamsteed and SIMBAD say otherwise |
| Separation | 2002-11-08 | previously: 50 Earth/Sun – new info from http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/zetaboo.html |
| Orbital Period | 2002-11-22 | http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/zetaboo.html |
| Actual Brightness | 2002-11-08 | with Scott’s Flamsteed |
| Magnitude | 2002-11-08 | with Flamsteed |
| Mass | -- | |
| Surface Gravity | -- | |
| Surface Composition | 2003-01-06 | OK for all stars |
| Spectral Type | 2002-11-08 | with Flamsteed |
| Density | -- | |
| Other Information | 2002-11-08 | with http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/zetaboo.html |