Arcturus – the brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere

We have just had 8 consecutive clear Moonless nights – I’m pretty sure that one will remain an unbroken record.  Taken during this period of  deep-sky imaging bliss we have the brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere, which is NOT Vega as you might guess (looking up on a summer’s evening Vega appears to be the brightest star up there) – but over to the west, looking a lot like Mars IS the brightest star – and it’s Arcturus.

Arcturus – or Hoku-lea the star of gladness, the star that leads great voyagers home – to quote Stephen James O’Meara in his superb book “The Caldwell Objects”.

There’s something about Arcturus, I don’t know what it is, but I get a great feeling of comfort and security when I see it shining overhead.  Maybe I have some Hawaiian ancestry? 🙂 🙂

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