Centaurus
From Wikinfo
This article describes the constellation of Centarus. For alternate meanings see Centaurus (disambiguation).
| Centaurus | |
| File:Centaurus constellation map small.png larger image | |
| Abbreviation | Cen |
| Genitive | Centauri |
| Meaning in English | the Centaur |
| Right ascension | 13�h |
| Declination | −50� |
| Visible to latitude | Between 30� and −90� |
| Best visible | May |
| Area - Total | Ranked 9th 1060 sq. deg. |
| Number of stars with apparent magnitude < 3 | 10 |
| Brightest star - Apparent magnitude | Rigil Kentaurus (α�Cen) −0.01 |
| Meteor showers | |
| Bordering constellations | |
Centaurus (the centaur) was one of the 48�constellations listed by Ptolemy, and counts also among the 88�modern constellations. This southern constellation is one of the largest on the sky.
Contents |
Notable features
Centaurus is a bright constellation of the southern hemisphere.
It contains Proxima Centauri, a red dwarf that is the nearest known star (other than the Sun) to Earth, as well as Alpha Centauri, which is a triple star to which Proxima Centauri is apparently gravitationally bound.
It also contains BPM 37093, which is estimated to be a degenerate star, consisting of crystalline carbon.
Notable deep sky objects
It also contains Omega Centauri, the brightest globular cluster in the sky.
One of the deep-sky objects in Centaurus is the Boomerang nebula, the coldest location (1�Kelvin, −272�C) known to science.
History
It was mentioned by Eudoxus (4th�century�B.C.) and Aratus (3rd�century�B.C.), Ptolemy catalogued thirty-seven stars in it.
Mythology
According to Greek mythology, the constellation is Chiron who was a wise Centaur (half-man, half-horse) known as a tutor to Jason (the leader of the Argonauts), and tutor to Hercules (a demi-god).
References
- Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Centaurus" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centaurus, used under the GNU Free Documentation License
