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Volans
Volans is a constellation in the southern sky. It represents a flying fish; its name is a shortened form of its original name, Piscis Volans. Volans was one of twelve constellations created by Petrus Plancius from the observations of Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman and it first appeared on a 35-cm diameter celestial globe published in 1597 (or 1598) in Amsterdam by Plancius with Jodocus Hondius. The first depiction of this constellation in a celestial atlas was in Johann Bayer's ''Uranometria'' of 1603. History Volans is one of the 12 constellations that were introduced by the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman in the late 16th century. It was first depicted on Petrus Plancius’ globe in 1598. Plancius called the constellation ''Vliegendenvis'' (flying fish). In 1603, Johann Bayer included the constellation in his star atlas ''Uranometria'' under the name Piscis Volans, the flying fish. John Herschel proposed shrinking the name t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constellation Volans
Volans is a constellation in the southern sky. It represents a flying fish; its name is a shortened form of its original name, Piscis Volans. Volans was one of twelve constellations created by Petrus Plancius from the observations of Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman and it first appeared on a 35-cm diameter celestial globe published in 1597 (or 1598) in Amsterdam by Plancius with Jodocus Hondius. The first depiction of this constellation in a celestial atlas was in Johann Bayer's ''Uranometria'' of 1603. History Volans is one of the 12 constellations that were introduced by the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman in the late 16th century. It was first depicted on Petrus Plancius’ globe in 1598. Plancius called the constellation ''Vliegendenvis'' (flying fish). In 1603, Johann Bayer included the constellation in his star atlas ''Uranometria'' under the name Piscis Volans, the flying fish. John Herschel proposed shrinking ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gliese 293
L 97-12 (or WD 0752-676, or LHS 34, or Gliese 293) is a nearby degenerate star ( white dwarf), located in the constellation Volans, the single known component of the system. Distance Possibly, L 97-12 is the ninth-closest white dwarf after Sirius B, Procyon B, van Maanen's star, Gliese 440, 40 Eridani B, Stein 2051 B, GJ 1221 and Gliese 223.2. (However, there is probability, that white dwarfs GJ 1087, Gliese 518 and (with lesser probability) Gliese 915 may be located closer.) Trigonometric parallax of L 97-12 was included in the YPC (Yale Parallax Catalog), and subsequently it was measured more precisely in CTIOPI ( Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) Parallax Investigation) 0.9 m telescope program: Physical parameters The mass of L 97-12 is 0.59 ± 0.01 Solar masses, and its surface gravity is 108.00 ± 0.02 cm·s−2, or approximately 102,000 of Earth's, corresponding to a radius of , or 139% of Earth's. L 97-12 has temperature 5,700 ± 90 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epsilon Volantis
Epsilon Volantis, Latinized from ε Volantis, is a quadruple star system in the southern constellation Volans. This star is at the center of the constellation of Volans and connects the "wings" of the constellation. Based upon parallax measurements, is roughly 640 light years from Earth. The primary component, Epsilon Volantis A, is a spectroscopic binary. It is classified a blue-white B-type giant star and has an apparent magnitude of +4.35. (The individual components are classified as B6IV and B8.) The binary system has an orbital period of 14.1683 days. The binary's companion, Epsilon Volantis B, is 6.05 arcseconds away and has an apparent magnitude of +8.1. It too is a spectroscopic binary, consisting of two A-type main sequence star An A-type main-sequence star (A V) or A dwarf star is a main-sequence (hydrogen-burning) star of spectral type A and luminosity class V (five). These stars have spectra defined by strong hydrogen Balmer absorption lines. They ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gamma Volantis
Gamma Volantis, Latinized from γ Volantis, is a wide binary star system in the southern constellation of Volans. Based upon parallax measurements, it is approximately 133 light years from Earth. It is bright enough to be seen with the naked eye and can be found around 9° to the east-southeast of the Large Magellanic Cloud. The brighter component, designated γ2 Volantis, is an orange K-type giant star with a stellar classification of K0 III and an apparent magnitude of +3.62, making this the brightest star in the constellation. Its companion, γ1 Volantis, is an F-type main-sequence star of classification F2 V and an apparent magnitude of +5.70. As of 2002, the pair were at an angular separation of 14.1 ″ along a position angle In astronomy, position angle (usually abbreviated PA) is the convention for measuring angles on the sky. The International Astronomical Union defines it as the angle measured relative to the north celestial pole (NCP ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
R Volantis
R Volantis is a single variable star in the southern circumpolar constellation Volans. It has an average apparent magnitude of 8.7, making it readily visible in amateur telescopes but not to the naked eye. The object is relatively far at a distance of about 2,300 light years but is drifting closer with a radial velocity of . R Volantis' peculiarity was first observed in 1954 when it was found to have emission lines in its spectrum. Observations from 1955 to 1967 reveal that the star was a probable Mira variable and was given its current designation. However, its nature as a carbon star wasn't discovered until 1968 by Pik-Sin The. In the paper, R Volantis and V1163 Centauri (HD 114586) had their spectrums studied and revealed that the former is a carbon star while the latter is an S-type star. R Volantis has a stellar classification of Ce, indicating that it is a carbon star with emission lines. It is a giant star on the asymptotic giant branch, meaning that it is gene ... [...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 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 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 (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 to have planets. Among them is HD 40307, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mensa (constellation)
Mensa is a constellation in the Southern Celestial Hemisphere near the south celestial pole, one of fourteen constellations drawn up in the 18th century by French astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille. Its name is Latin for table, though it originally commemorated Table Mountain and was known as "Mons Mensae". One of the eighty-eight constellations designated by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), it covers a keystone-shaped wedge of sky 153.5 square degrees in area. Other than the south polar constellation of Octans, it is the most southerly of constellations and is observable only south of the 5th parallel of the Northern Hemisphere. One of the faintest constellations in the night sky, Mensa contains no apparently bright stars—the brightest, Alpha Mensae, is barely visible in suburban skies. Part of the Large Magellanic Cloud, several star clusters and a quasar lie in the area covered by the constellation, and at least three of its star systems have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Petrus Plancius
Petrus Plancius (; 1552 – 15 May 1622) was a Dutch-Flemish astronomer, cartographer and clergyman. He was born as Pieter Platevoet in Dranouter, now in Heuvelland, West Flanders. He studied theology in Germany and England. At the age of 24 he became a minister in the Dutch Reformed Church. Plancius fled from Brussels to Amsterdam to avoid religious prosecution by the Inquisition after the city fell into Spanish hands in 1585. In Amsterdam he became interested in navigation and cartography and, having access to nautical charts recently brought from Portugal, he was soon recognized as an expert on safe maritime routes to India and the nearby "spice islands". This enabled colonies and port trade in both, including what would become the Dutch East Indies, named after the Dutch East India Company set up in 1602. He saw strong potential in the little-mapped Arctic Sea and strongly believed in the idea of a Northeast Passage until the failure of Willem Barentsz's third voyage in 159 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carina (constellation)
Carina ( ) is a constellation in the southern sky. Its name is Latin for the keel of a ship, and it was the southern foundation of the larger constellation of Argo Navis (the ship ''Argo'') until it was divided into three pieces, the other two being Puppis (the poop deck), and Vela (the sails of the ship). History and mythology Carina was once a part of Argo Navis, the great ship of Jason and the Argonauts who searched for the Golden Fleece. The constellation of Argo was introduced in ancient Greece. However, due to the massive size of Argo Navis and the sheer number of stars that required separate designation, Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille divided Argo into three sections in 1763, including Carina (the hull or keel). In the 19th century, these three became established as separate constellations, and were formally included in the list of 88 modern IAU constellations in 1930. Lacaille kept a single set of Greek letters for the whole of Argo, and separate sets of Latin lette ... [...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] |
Chamaeleon
Chamaeleon () is a small constellation in the deep southern sky. It is named after the chameleon, a kind of lizard. It was first defined in the 16th century. History Chamaeleon was one of twelve constellations created by Petrus Plancius from the observations of Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman. It first appeared on a 35-cm diameter celestial globe published in 1597 (or 1598) in Amsterdam by Plancius and Jodocus Hondius. Johann Bayer was the first uranographer to put Chamaeleon in a celestial atlas. It was one of many constellations created by European explorers in the 15th and 16th centuries out of unfamiliar Southern Hemisphere stars. Features Stars There are four bright stars in Chamaeleon that form a compact diamond-shape approximately 10 degrees from the south celestial pole and about 15 degrees south of Acrux, along the axis formed by Acrux and Gamma Crucis. Alpha Chamaeleontis is a white-hued star of magnitude 4.1, 63 light-years from Earth. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bayer Family
Constellation families are collections of constellations sharing some defining characteristic, such as proximity on the celestial sphere, common historical origin, or common mythological theme. In the Western tradition, most of the northern constellations stem from Ptolemy's list in the '' Almagest'' (which in turn has roots that go back to Mesopotamian astronomy), and most of the far southern constellations were introduced by sailors and astronomers who traveled to the south in the 16th to 18th centuries. Separate traditions arose in India and China. Menzel's families Donald H. Menzel, director of the Harvard Observatory, gathered several traditional groups in his popular account, ''A Field Guide to the Stars and Planets'' (1975), and adjusted and regularized them so that his handful of groups covered all 88 of the modern constellations. Of these families, one (Zodiac) straddles the ecliptic which divides the sky into north and south; one (Hercules) has nearly equal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
