BellaOnline Forums Education Astronomy Arcturus - the Bear Guardian *new*

Arcturus is the brightest star in the constellation Bootes (the Herdsman) and the fourth brightest in the entire sky. It's been prominent in the skylore of many cultures for thousands of years, opened a World Fair, and may have been born in another galaxy.

Arcturus - the Bear Guardian

See the size of Arcturus compared to the Sun and the stars Sirius and Pollux (Gemini).

There are 88 official constellations covering the sky with no gaps or overlaps. There are also lots of asterisms, recognizable patterns of stars that aren't constellations. They have no official standing, but they have the advantage over many constellations of resembling what they represent. The Spring Triangle is one of them, and one of its three bright stars is Arcturus.

Spring Triangle - a Seasonal Asterism

Days lengthen, flowers blossom and it's starting to get warmer. Even if your spring weather is late, daffodil-colored star Arcturus says it's spring. Use the Big Dipper to find Arcturus, Polaris the pole star, the constellation of Leo the lion, and a number of galaxies and nebulae.

Absolute Beginners - Spring Skies

A digital version of a poster for Century of Progress World's Fair held in Chicago in 1933. [Original poster: Weimer Pursell, silkscreen print by Neely Printing Co., Chicago] Edwin Frost, retired director of the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, where the world’s largest refracting telescope is located, came up with the the idea of using Arcturus to symbolically link two world fairs held in Chicago.