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Octans
Octans is a faint constellation located in the deep southern celestial hemisphere, Southern Sky. Its name is Latin for the eighth part of a circle, but it is named after the octant (instrument), octant, a navigational instrument. Devised by kingdom of France, French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1752, Octans remains one of the IAU designated constellations, 88 modern constellations. The southern celestial pole is located within the boundaries of Octans. History and mythology Octans was one of 14 constellations created by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille during his expedition to the Cape of Good Hope, and was originally named ''l’Octans de Reflexion'' (“the reflecting octant”) in 1752, after he had observed and catalogued almost 10,000 southern stars during a two-year stay at the Cape of Good Hope. He devised fourteen new constellations in uncharted regions of the Southern Celestial Hemisphere not visible from Europe. All but one honoured instruments that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nu Octantis
ν Octantis, Romanization of Greek, Latinised as Nu Octantis, is a binary star in the constellation of Octans. Unusually for having such a late greek letter in its name, it is the brightest star in this faint constellation at apparent magnitude +3.7. It is located at from Earth, and is moving away at a radial velocity of +34.4 km/s. The system has an exoplanet orbiting halfway between both stars. Characteristics This is a spectroscopic binary system, meaning the binarity was inferred from periodic Doppler shifts in the spectral lines, which correspond to the motion of the stars. Both stars take to complete an orbit around each other, being separated by a semi-major axis of 2.61 astronomical units at a somewhat elliptical orbit. The primary has a spectral type of K1IV, with the luminosity class IV indicating that it is a subgiant star that has nuclear fusion, fused up all the hydrogen at its core and has expanded. Nu Octantis A has 1.57 times the mass of the Sun, b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
