Yellow giant · Boötes

Nekkar

Also known as: β Boötis (β Boo), HIP 73555

mag 3.5230 light-years

About

Nekkar (β Boötis) is a yellow giant of magnitude 3.5 in Boötes, about 230 light-years away.

Nekkar is in the constellation Boötes.
Best evenings: around late June it is highest at about 9 pm (10 pm in summer time); a month earlier, two hours later.
Where on Earth: it is seen well, at least 10° up, from north of 40° S.

When it rises and sets tonight, how high it climbs and how much the Moon gets in the way are worked out in your browser for your place.

EyesVisible from the suburbs on a clear night, but lost in bright city skies.
Binoculars (10×50)A sharp point; binoculars bring out its colour and the fainter stars around it.
Telescope (6–8 inch)Still a point of light at any magnification — stars are too far away to show a disc. Low in the sky, bright stars twinkle and flash colours.

Stars look the same in any instrument: brighter and sharper, but never bigger.

Proper name	Nekkar
Designation	β Boötis (β Boo)
Hipparcos number	HIP 73555
Type	Yellow giant
Spectral type	G8III
Colour	Pale orangeB−V colour index 0.96
Magnitude	3.5The smaller the number, the brighter.
Distance	230 light-yearsThe light you see left it around 1800.
Proper motion	0.050″ per year across the sky
Constellation	Boötes
Right ascension (J2000)	15h 01m 56.8s
Declination (J2000)	+40° 23′ 26″

Star data: HYG Database by David Nash, CC BY-SA 4.0. All data sources →