Corona Borealis, a Latin name that translates to “Northern Crown,” has always been one of my favorite constellations. It’s small but distinct and bright enough to see even moderately light-polluted skies. This time of year, as evening twilight ends, it puts on a great show nearly overhead in the very high southeastern sky.
Sometime this summer, though, it could really surprise us with a new star ...
more on that in a bit. (Mike Lynch) Corona Borealis, the little crown of stars, is not alone in the night sky. It hangs to the lower left of a much larger constellation, Bootes the Herdsman, which resembles a giant celestial kite flying diagonally above.
The tail of this celestial kite is marked by the very bright star Arcturus, which is also the brightest star in the evening sky in late spring and summer. Even with the naked eye, Arcturus stands out with its distinctive orange hue, shining at us from about 215 trillion miles away. This time of year, it resembles a sideways letter C.
However, with just a touch of imagination, Corona Borealis reveals its beauty, a crown or a tiara, a celestial adornment fit for a beauty queen like Miss America. In Australia, it’s seen as a boomerang, and you certainly see why. Admittedly, Corona Borealis may not be a constellation that astronomers get overly excited about.
There’s not much to see within its boundaries with a telescope, even a larger one. It lacks prominent star clusters, nebulae or galaxies. In fact, many amateur astronom.
