tags: star type astronomy star distance from sun (ly)

Arcturus is the brightest star in the constellation Bootes, and the
third brightest star in the night sky, with a visual magnitude of
-0.05, after Sirius and Canopus, although it is fainter than the
combined light of the two main components of Alpha Centauri, which are
too close together for the eye to resolve as separate sources of
light, making Arcturus appear to be the fourth brightest. It is the
second brightest star visible from northern latitudes and the
brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere. The star is in
the Local Interstellar Cloud.