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Caelum
Caelum is a faint constellation in the southern sky, introduced in the 1750s by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille and counted among the 88 modern constellations. Its name means “'' chisel''” in Latin, and it was formerly known as Caelum Sculptorium (“''the engravers’ chisel''”); It is a rare word, unrelated to the far more common Latin ''caelum'', meaning “sky, heaven, atmosphere”. It is the eighth-smallest constellation, and subtends a solid angle of around 0.038 steradians, just less than that of Corona Australis. Due to its small size and location away from the plane of the Milky Way, Caelum is a rather barren constellation, with few objects of interest. The constellation's brightest star, Alpha Caeli, is only of magnitude 4.45, and only one other star, (Gamma) γ 1 Caeli, is brighter than magnitude 5 . Other notable objects in Caelum are RR Caeli, a binary star with one known planet approximately away; X Caeli, a Delta Scuti va ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
X Caeli
X Caeli, or Gamma2 Caeli, is a binary star system in the southern constellation of Caelum. It is barely visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 6.32. based upon an annual parallax shift of , it is located 341 light-years from Earth. The system is moving further away with a heliocentric radial velocity of +6 km/s. The yellow-white-hued primary, component A, has an apparent magnitude of +6.32 and stellar classification of F2 IV/V, showing mixed traits of an F-type main-sequence star and a subgiant. It is classified as a Delta Scuti-type variable star and its brightness varies from magnitude +6.28 to +6.39 with a period of 3.25 hours. A 2000 observing campaign identified at least six independent pulsation modes for this variation. The companion star, component B, has an apparent magnitude of +9.65 and, as of 2000, is at an angular separation of along a position angle In astronomy, position angle (usually abbreviated PA) is th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alpha Caeli
Alpha Caeli (α Cae, α Caeli) is a double star system in the constellation Caelum. Physical Properties Primary Alpha Caeli A is an F-type main sequence star with a stellar classification of F2V and an apparent magnitude of +4.44. It has 1.48 times the mass of the Sun and 1.3 times the solar radius. The projected rotational velocity at the stellar equator is 47.8 km/s. It is suspected of being a Delta Scuti variable star. Companion + Orbit The companion is a spectral class M0.5V red dwarf star with absolute magnitude 9.80. It is a UV Ceti variable star that undergoes random increases in luminosity. This star is currently separated from the primary by an angle of 6.6 arcseconds, which indicates an orbit with a semimajor axis whose expected value is 206 AU. Motion Alpha Caeli is approximately 65.7 light years from Earth and is an estimated 900 million years old. The space velocity components of this system are U = 10, V = 6 and W = -10 km/s. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gamma1 Caeli
Gamma1 Caeli, Latinized from γ1 Caeli, is a double star in the constellation Caelum. It consists of a K-type giant, and a G-type subgiant. Properties Component A Gamma1 Caeli A has an apparent magnitude of 4.57, which makes it barely visible to the naked eye. According to parallax, the star is located 185 light years away. Gamma1 Caeli A has a similar mass to the Sun, but expanded to 14.3 times the Sun's girth. It radiates at 69.9 times the Sun's luminosity from its swollen photosphere at an effective temperature of 4,411 K. Component B Gamma1 Caeli B has an apparent magnitude of 8.07, which makes it visible only in binoculars, and is located at a similar distance to Component A. It has 91% of the Sun's mass The solar mass () is a standard unit of mass in astronomy, equal to approximately . It is often used to indicate the masses of other stars, as well as stellar clusters, nebulae, galaxies and black holes. It is approximately equal to the mass of .. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RR Caeli
RR Caeli is an eclipsing binary star in the constellation Caelum. It is 69 light years from Earth. Properties RR Caeli was first noted to be a high-proper motion star in 1955 by Jacob Luyten, and given the designation LFT 349. This star system consists of a red dwarf of spectral type M6 and a white dwarf that orbit each other every seven hours; the former is 18% as massive as the Sun, while the latter has 44% of the Sun's mass. The red dwarf is tidally locked with the white dwarf, meaning it displays the same side to the heavier star. The system is also a post-common-envelope binary, and the red dwarf star is transferring material onto the white dwarf. In approximately 9–20 billion years, RR Caeli will likely become a cataclysmic variable star due to the period's gradual shortening, leading to increasing rates of transfer of hydrogen to the surface of the white dwarf. The white dwarf is likely to have a plain helium core, as its density is too low for the carbon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HE0450-2958
HE0450-2958 is an unusual quasar. It has been called the "naked quasar" and the "quasar without a home" because it appears to lack a host galaxy. It is estimated to lie approximately one billion parsecs away. History A team of researchers led by Pierre Magain of the University of Liège, Belgium announced their findings in the September 14, 2005 issue of the journal ''Nature''.Magain, P. et al. (2005) Discovery of a bright quasar without a massive host galaxy ''Nature'', 437, 381 The quasar lies close in the sky to a disturbed, starburst galaxy (see figure, upper left). However, no galaxy was seen around the quasar itself (figure, middle), leading the authors to speculate One might suggest that the host galaxy has disappeared from our view as a result of the collision hich formed the disturbed galaxy but it is hard to imagine how the complete disruption of a galaxy could happen. In order for the quasar's host galaxy to have escaped detection, Magain et al. estimated that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horologium (constellation)
Horologium (Latin , the pendulum clock, from Ancient Greek, Greek , ) is a constellation of six stars faintly visible in the southern celestial hemisphere. It was first described by the French astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille in 1756 and visualized by him as a clock with a pendulum and a second hand. In 1922 the constellation was redefined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) as a region of the celestial sphere containing Lacaille's stars, and has since been an IAU designated constellations, IAU designated constellation. Horologium's associated region is wholly visible to observers south of 23rd parallel north, 23°N. The constellation's brightest star—and the only one brighter than an apparent magnitude of 4—is Alpha Horologii (at 3.85), an aging orange giant star that has swollen to around 11 times the diameter of the Sun. The Mira variable, long-period variable-brightness star, R Horologii (4.7 to 14.3), has one of the largest variations in brightness among al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pictor
Pictor is a constellation in the Southern Celestial Hemisphere, located between the star Canopus and the Large Magellanic Cloud. Its name is Latin for Painting, painter, and is an abbreviation of the older name Equuleus Pictoris (the "painter's easel"). Normally represented as an easel, Pictor was named by Abbé Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille in the 18th century. The constellation's brightest star is Alpha Pictoris, a A-type main-sequence star, white main-sequence star around 97 light-years away from Earth. Pictor also hosts RR Pictoris, a cataclysmic variable star system that flared up as a nova, reaching apparent magnitude, apparent (visual) magnitude 1.2 in 1925 before fading into obscurity. Pictor has attracted attention because of its second-brightest star Beta Pictoris, 63.4 light-years distant from Earth, which is surrounded by an unusual dust disk rich in carbon, as well as an exoplanet (extrasolar planet). Another five stars in the constellation have been observed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Columba (constellation)
Columba is a faint constellation designated in the late sixteenth century, remaining in official use, with its rigid limits set in the 20th century. Its name is Latin for dove. It takes up 1.31% of the southern celestial hemisphere and is just south of Canis Major and Lepus. History * Early 3rd century BC: Aratus's astronomical poem ''Phainomena'' (lines 367–370 and 384–385) mentions faint stars where Columba is now but does not fit any name or figure to them. * 2nd century AD: Ptolemy listed 48 constellations in the ''Almagest'' but did not mention Columba. * c. 150–215 AD: Clement of Alexandria wrote in his ''Logos Paidogogos''"Αἱ δὲ σφραγῖδες ἡμῖν ἔστων πελειὰς ἢ ἰχθὺς ἢ ναῦς οὐριοδρομοῦσα ἢ λύρα μουσική, ᾗ κέχρηται Πολυκράτης, ἢ ἄγκυρα ναυτική," (= " hen recommending symbols for Christians to use let our seals be a dove or a fish or a ship running in a good ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lepus (constellation)
Lepus (, ) is a constellation lying just south of the celestial equator. Its name is Latin for hare. It is located below—immediately south—of Orion (the hunter), and is sometimes represented as a hare being chased by Orion or by Orion's hunting dogs. Although the hare does not represent any particular figure in Greek mythology, Lepus was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations. History and mythology Lepus is most often represented as a hare being hunted by Orion, whose hunting dogs (Canis Major and Canis Minor) pursue it. The constellation is also associated with the Moon rabbit. Four stars of this constellation (α, β, γ, δ Lep) form a quadrilateral and are known as ''‘Arsh al- Jawzā''', "the Throne of Jawzā'" or ''Kursiyy al-Jawzā' al-Mu'akhkhar'', "the Hindmost Chair of Jawzā'" and ''al-Nihāl'', "the Camels Quenching Their Thirst" in Arabic. Features Stars There ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eridanus (constellation)
Eridanus () is a constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is represented as a river. One of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, it remains one of the 88 modern constellations. It is the sixth largest of the modern constellations, and the one that extends farthest in the sky from north to south. The same name was later taken as a Latin name for the real Po River and also for the name of a minor river in Athens. Features Stars At its southern end is the magnitude 0.5 star Achernar, designated Alpha Eridani. It is a blue-white hued main sequence star 144 light-years from Earth, whose traditional name means "the river's end". Achernar is a very peculiar star because it is one of the flattest stars known. Observations indicate that its radius is about 50% larger at the equator than at the poles. This distortion occurs because the star is spinning extremely rapidly. There are several other noteworthy stars in Eridanus, including ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dorado
Dorado () is a constellation in the southern sky. It was named in the late 16th century and is now one of the 88 modern constellations. Its name refers to the dolphinfish (''Coryphaena hippurus''), which is known as ''dorado'' in Spanish, although it has also been depicted as a swordfish. Dorado contains most of the Large Magellanic Cloud, the remainder being in the constellation Mensa. The South Ecliptic pole also lies within this constellation. Even though the name Dorado is not Latin but Spanish, astronomers give it the Latin genitive form ''Doradus'' when naming its stars; it is treated (like the adjacent asterism Argo Navis) as a feminine proper name of Greek origin ending in -ō (like ''Io'' or ''Callisto'' or ''Argo''), which have a genitive ending ''-ūs''. History Dorado was one of twelve constellations named by Petrus Plancius from the observations of Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman. It appeared: * On a celestial globe published in 1597 (or 1598) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicolas Louis De Lacaille
Abbé Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille (; 15 March 171321 March 1762), formerly sometimes spelled de la Caille, was a French astronomer and geodesist who named 14 out of the 88 constellations. From 1750 to 1754, he studied the sky at the Cape of Good Hope in present-day South Africa. Lacaille observed over 10,000 stars using just a half-inch refracting telescope. Biography Born at Rumigny in the Ardennes in eastern France, he attended school in Mantes-sur-Seine (now Mantes-la-Jolie). Afterwards, he studied rhetoric and philosophy at the Collège de Lisieux and then theology at the Collège de Navarre. He was left destitute in 1731 by the death of his father, who had held a post in the household of the duchess of Vendôme. However, he was supported in his studies by the Duc de Bourbon, his father's former patron. After he graduated, he did not accept ordination as a priest but took deacon's orders, becoming an Abbé. He concentrated thereafter on science, and, through the patrona ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
