38 Boötis
Encyclopedia
38 Boötis or h Boötis is a star
in the constellation
Boötes
. It has the traditional name Merga, occasionally spelled Marrha or in full El Mara el Musalsela, from the Arabic المرأة المسلسلة al-mar’ah al-musalsalah "the chained woman". Another occasional name is Falx Italica, from the Latin falx ītalica "billhook
".
38 Boötis has an apparent magnitude
of 5.74 and belongs to the spectral class
F7IVw. It is approximately 153 light years from Earth
.
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
in the constellation
Constellation
In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....
Boötes
Boötes
Boötes is a constellation in the northern sky, located between 0° and +60° declination, and 13 and 16 hours of right ascension on the celestial sphere. The name comes from the Greek Βοώτης, Boōtēs, meaning herdsman or plowman...
. It has the traditional name Merga, occasionally spelled Marrha or in full El Mara el Musalsela, from the Arabic المرأة المسلسلة al-mar’ah al-musalsalah "the chained woman". Another occasional name is Falx Italica, from the Latin falx ītalica "billhook
Billhook
The billhook is a traditional cutting tool known and used throughout the world, and very common in the wine-growing countries of Europe, used widely in agriculture and forestry The billhook (also bill hook – although this more usually refers to either a metal or plastic hook used to hold bills,...
".
38 Boötis has an apparent magnitude
Apparent magnitude
The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere...
of 5.74 and belongs to the spectral class
Stellar classification
In astronomy, stellar classification is a classification of stars based on their spectral characteristics. The spectral class of a star is a designated class of a star describing the ionization of its chromosphere, what atomic excitations are most prominent in the light, giving an objective measure...
F7IVw. It is approximately 153 light years from Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
.