History and Mythology
There is a lot of mythology surrounding Bootes, especially as it's brightest star, Arcturus, is the fourth brightest in the sky. One legend states that Bootes was the son of Demeter(Ceres), the goddess of agriculture. Bootes is credited with inventing the plow and was placed in the sky to honor his invention. In another legend, Bootes was the son of Zeus and Callisto, who was transformed into a bear by Hera, Zeus' jealous wife. Bootes was hunting and was going to hunt his other when Zeus took her to the skies, where she became Ursa Major. In fact, Arctutrus comes from the Greek for 'guardian of the bear' and many times he is seen leading Canes Venatici chasing the bears around the pole. In Arab mythology, the circumpolar stars are animals and Bootes is the herdsman. The ancient Egyptians saw the circumpolar stars as evil, and Bootes was seen as a hippopotamus, a creature representing the incarnation of a goddess who keeps the evil stars in check. To the Chinese, Arcturus is one of the horns of the dragon, and when the full moon touches it, Spring and the Chinese New Year begin. The Quadrantid meteor shower show itself ont he northern section of Bootes around January 4. At its peak, it can produce around 40 meteors per hour.
Stars
alpha-Arcturus-derivede from arktourus, Greek for guardian of the bear Spectral Type-K2 III Magnitude- -.04 (4th brightest star in sky) Distance 36ly
beta-Nekkar-Arabic for ox-driver and the Arabic name for the whole constellation Spectral Type-G8 III Magnitude-3.5 Distance-135 ly
gamma-Segina-believed to be of Arabic origin but I have no translation Spectral Type-A7 III Magnitude-3.0 Distance-105 ly
delta-in Chinese folklore this is part of the group of stars known as Tseih Kung, the Seven Princes Spectral Type-G8 III Magnitude-3.5 Distance140 ly
epsilon-Izar-Arabic for loincloth or girdle; this is a triple star, but you will not be able to see the third star, it has only been spotted by spectroscope; these stars are known asPulcherimma, which is Latin for most beautiful; they are named this for their gold and green color(the green is an optical illusion caused by a nearby reddish star) Spectral Types-K0 II-III and A2 Magnitudes-2.4 and 5 Distance-150 ly
zeta- along with xi, omicron and pi, these stars are known as Cho-t'i to the Chinese, the attendants of the Spring star Spectral Type-A2 III Magnitude-3.8 Distance-205 ly
eta-Mufrid-its Arabic translation of solitary star of the lancer makes an unknown connection with Bootes Spectral Type-G0 IV Magnitude-2.7 Distance-32 ly
mu-Alkalurops-Arabic for herdman's staff, this is believed to have evolved from the word for club; this triple star has companions of about 7th magnitude Spectral Type-F0 V Magnitude-4.3 Distance-59 ly
Star Clusters
NGC 5466 is a globular 47,000 ly away at a magnitude of 8.5
Nebulae
None for skywatchers
Galaxies
Bootes does have about a half dozen galaxies, ranging from 10th to 12th magnitude, but these are not interesting in telescopes