Nowadays Boötes is generally considered to be a Herdsman, as he eternally shepherds the stars around the North Pole.  The constellation was known in antiquity, with the first recorded appearance being in Homer's Odyssey. In Book V Odysseus sails his ship by the stars, using the Pleiades, the Bear, and Boötes ("which set late") to reach his destination.

Some constellations are known for their deep sky objects; others for an interesting variable or perhaps an attractive binary. Boötes has few deep sky objects of any interest. Nor are its variables particularly noteworthy. However the constellation does have one of the finest collection of double stars, some of which are described below.

Deep Sky Objects

NGC 5248 - About 4-6' long by 2-3' wide, oriented NW-SE. Sharply concentrated to the center, and a bright stellar nucleus. At times, the arms of this galaxy appear to be slightly curved at the ends.
NGC 5466 - This lone globular cluster in Bootes is not particularly impressive. It is a milky patch about 8' in diameter, with a faint sprinkling of stars across its face.
NGC 5660 - A very faint patch of light 2-3' in diameter. Barely visible as a brightening of the background sky.
NGC 5676 - 3' long by 1.5' wide with tapering ends, oriented NNE-SSW, and a broad concentration to the center.
NGC 5689 - 2'x0.75', oriented ENE-WSW, sharply concentrated to the center and a non-stellar nucleus.

Double Stars
Epsilon Bootis - A very pretty double star, although rather tough to split. The primary is golden, and the companion in blue.
Xi Bootis - Easier to split, and a very pretty yellow and red-orange pair.
Kappa Boötis is a gorgeous double with colour contrast; the primary is yellow and the companion a deep blue
Mu Boötis is a triple system. AB are fixed.  The component B has a close companion C (magnitude 7.6) which is a rapid binary
Pi Boötis is a pleasant binary of two blue-white stars

UP, UP, and AWAY (International Space Station)- Mission STS-111, with the Space Shuttle Endeavor, will launch at the end of May to exchange crews of the ISS. The Expedition Four Crew of Yury, Dan and Carl, who've been on station since December 7, 2001, will be replaced by Crew Five with Valery, Peggy, and Sergei. Leonardo (the logistics carrier) will be bringing almost three tons of supplies and equipment on its third visit to the station. The Endeavor crew will also be delivering a mobile base system for the station's robotic arm and a new joint for the arm.

SPEEDS HIGHER THAN THE INSIDE LANE OF 820 (TRACE& SOHO)- Recent observations from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory spacecraft (SOHO) and the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer spacecraft (TRACE) have shown winds and storms in the solar atmosphere moving at speeds up to 200,000 miles per hour. Researchers had thought that coronal loops of electrified gas or plasma were trapped and enclosed by the magnetic fields of the corona. The new findings suggest the loops are hypervelocity currents of plasma instead of static plasma-filled structures.