NORTHWESTERN BOOTES

Ursa Major's Mizar and Alcor, in the Big Dipper's handle, lie at the top of the picture, Alkaid (Zeta UMa), the handle's last star, to the right of center. Down and to the left of Alkaid is a flat triangle of stars that represent Bootes' upraised fingers, made (from upper right to lower left) of Kappa, Iota, and Theta Bootis, for mysterious reasons also called "the Donkeys, Asellus Tertius, Secundus, and Primus. Down to the far right of these is the odd star Lamda Boo. 81, 83, 84, and 86 UMa fall like raindrops down and left of Alcor (80 UMa), while 82 UMa is down and right of reddish 83 UMa.

The famed galaxy Messier 51 appears as a faint smudge up and to the right of Alkaid.

To see a labelled image, push the star:

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By Jim Kaler. Return to STARS.