NEW THREAD! We'll be talking about the ever so bright: Arcturus!

Arcturus(Alpha Boötis) is the brightest star in the constellation Boötes, the herdsman. It is also the brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere. It also forms the spring triangle asterism with Spica and Denebola.

Arcturus is 36.7 light years away from our sun. It is 7.1 billion years old, it is currently in the red giant phase of life(where it has used up all of it's hydrogen in it's core) similar to what our sun will do in about 5 billion years.

It is also on its way to making its closest approach to our sun(in about 4000 years) at a speed of 272,906mph! It's apart of the Arcturus stream, which a group of stars that move in a different angle and at a different speed than most stars in our galaxy.

Some more specs on Arcturus:
-1.1 times more massive than our sun
-~100-200 times more luminous than our sun.
-26 times more larger than our sun

Arcturus is on it's way out. After burning it's hydrogen up, it is now consuming it's helium supply, growing larger in the process. After this process it will go supernova, exploding it's riches across space forming a nebula.

After it's closest approach Arcturus will disappear from our skies in about 150,000 years from now.

MYTHOLOGY: Arcturus translates to "bear guardian" as the constellation Boötes is placed near Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. The Romans believed it brought stormy weather about.

Bonus fact: Arcturus opened the Chicago Worlds Fair in 1933!

That's it! I hope you all learned something new about this lovely star, nearing the end if it's life. Show this thread some love and share it around!!

A thread perfect for @hannahbeev2