Arcturus, an orange-colored star, is the brightest star of the spring sky and resides in the constellation of Bo tes the Herdsman. In fact, if you look carefully, you just might be able to spot an extra scoop of ice cream formed by a semicircle of stars to the east. In mythology, this jeweled crown belonged to Princess Ariadne, daughter of King Minos of Crete. When Ariadne died, her crown was placed in the sky as a memorial. Today, we still see Berenice's hair as a soft glow with the naked eye, but a scan through binoculars reveals this actually to be a pretty cluster of three dozen stars.
Temperature determines a star's color.
The Arc to Arcturus Retrace the arc to Arcturus, then continue to speed on to Spica. Take a careful look at the colors of both Spica and Arcturus, and note their difference. A star's color depends on its temperature. Spica's blue-white tint tells astronomers that it is much hotter than orange Arcturus. Spica belongs to the zodiacal constellation of Virgo the Maiden.