Zeta Boötis
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Observation data Equinox J2000.0 |
|
---|---|
Constellation | Boötes |
Right ascension | 14h 41m 08.9s |
Declination | +13° 43' 42" |
Apparent magnitude (V) | +3.78 |
Distance | 181 ± 12 ly (55 ± 4 pc) |
Spectral type | A2III |
Other designations | |
![Zeta Bootis imaged with the Nordic Optical Telescope on 13 May 2000 using the lucky imaging method. The Airy disc around each of the stars is caused by diffraction from the 2.56m telescope aperture.](../../../upload/shared/thumb/b/b6/Zboo_lucky_image_1pc.png/180px-Zboo_lucky_image_1pc.png)
Zeta Boötis (ζ Boo / ζ Boötis) is a bright speckle binary in the constellation of Boötes. It also has the Flamsteed designation 30 Boötis. It is approximately 181 light years from Earth and has a combined apparent magnitude of +3.78.
The angular separation of the components is currently about 0.8" (this varies slightly with orbital period). As the separation is close to the seeing limit of most astronomical observations, ζ Boötis is often used to test the performance of new high resolution imaging techniques.
Both components, are white A-type giants with apparent magnitudes of +4.43 and +4.83.