The kite or the ice cream cone?

Have you noticed the days getting longer? Daylight Savings Time has something to do with it, jumping the clocks ahead an hour does put sunset later, however, I mean the actual hours of sunlight. Remember, back in December when it was very dark at about 4:30? Now sunset is after 7, that is 6 in real time.

Having just passed the Vernal Equinox (start of spring) with the Sun crossing the celestial equator it is moving farther north along the horizon in its rising and setting place each day thus longer days.

I just threw all of that in for free because what I want to discuss this week is the constellation Bootes (bow-OH-teez), the Herdsman. Because of the later sunset, Bootes is not visible above the eastern horizon until after 9 p.m. MDT (10 p.m. CDT).

Bootes is an ancient constellation. In literature, it is mentioned in Homer's Odyssey and was included in Ptolemy's 48 constellations. The ancients had several different identities for the star grouping. Some saw it as a herdsman, herding the greater and lesser bears (Ursa Major and Ursa Minor), although how you could herd a bear is beyond me.

Others saw it as a plowman (Bootes was supposed to have invented the plow) plowing the fields since this is a constellation rising in the early spring planting season.

Other cultures had different names and mythology associated with the constellation, however, today our modern eyes would associate the constellation with a kite as that is the shape it takes for us.

The eight relatively bright second- and third-magnitude stars making up Bootes are parallel to the eastern horizon as they rise. The brightest star is orange-red Arcturus. It is the fourth brightest star in the northern hemisphere. It is located on the southern end (the right side as you look at it) of the kite shape where the kite tail would be attached.

It is a red giant star 20 to 25 times the size of our Sun at about 36 light years distance and is a good example of what our Sun will become in a few billion years.

Another form for Bootes is a single scoop ice cream cone.

One astronomer has said he thinks of it as an ice cream cone because just below Bootes is Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown (an arc shaped constellation), which looks like a second scoop of ice cream that has fallen off the cone.

There are no major deep-sky objects in Bootes, however, there are numerous double stars that can be found using binoculars. It is a place to spend some time just looking.

Bright Arcturus, and the constellation, is easily found by using the arched handle of the Big Dipper to simply "Arc to Arcturus." You can follow the arched pathway from Arcturus further to find very bright Spica (SPY-ka) in Virgo (a constellation we will discuss later).

SKY WATCH: Look in the south Wednesday, March 28 about an hour after sunset for a conjunction of the Moon and Saturn. The bright planet will be about one degree (two full Moon widths) from the Moon and will draw closer as the evening wears on. Full Moon, April 2. Orion, the king of winter is setting in the west at 11:00 p.m.

Next time, Virgo, the virgin.