Beta Boötis Beta Boötis Beta Boötis (β Boötis, abbreviated Beta Boo, β Boo), also named Nekkar, is a star in the northern constellation of Boötes. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 3.5, making it one of the brighter members of the constellation. In the modern constellation, it marks the head of Boötis the herdsman. Based upon parallax measurements obtained during the Hipparcos mission, this star is approximately from the Sun. At that distance, the magnitude of the star is reduced by 0.06 from extinction caused by intervening gas and dust. "β Boötis" (Latinised to "Beta Boötis") is the star's Bayer designation.
Aquila (constellation) Aquila (constellation) Aquila is a constellation on the celestial equator. Its name is Latin for 'eagle' and it represents the bird that carried Zeus/Jupiter's thunderbolts in Greco-Roman mythology. Its brightest star, Altair, is one vertex of the Summer Triangle asterism. The constellation is best seen in the northern summer, as it is located along the Milky Way. Because of this location, many clusters and nebulae are found within its borders, but they are dim and galaxies are few. Aquila was one of the 48 constellations described by the second-century astronomer Ptolemy. It had been earlier mentioned by Eudoxus in the