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Mus - Musca the Fly

  • Aps - Apus the Bird of Paradise

    IAU Constellation

    Aps - Apus the Bird of Paradise

    Size

    67 of 88

    Astronomical Regions

    Circumpolar (southern)
    Southern
  • Car - Carina the Keel of Argo Navis

    IAU Constellation

    Car - Carina the Keel of Argo Navis

    Size

    34 of 88

    Astronomical Regions

    Circumpolar (southern)
    Southern

    Intro and Visual description

    Locate Canopus by drawing a line from the easternmost star of Orion’s belt down through Rigel, Orion’s left foot. Canopus lies about twice as far from Orion’s belt as Sirius.

    Between Canopus and the south pole lies the Large Magellenic Cloud (LMC), located in the constellation Dorado the Swordfish.

    Between Canopus and Crux are the False Cross (nearer Canopus, shared by Carina and Vela) and the Diamond Cross (nearer Crux, in Carina). These are fainter than Crux and were once part of Argo Navis.

  • Cen - Centaurus the Centaur

    IAU Constellation

    Cen - Centaurus the Centaur

    Size

    9 of 88

    Astronomical Regions

    Southern

    Intro and Visual description

    Partially visible only in March and April from 35 degrees north latitude.

    Hadar, a knee of the Centaur, is on a line from Alpha Centauri to Crux.

  • Cha - Chamaeleon

    IAU Constellation

    Cha - Chamaeleon

    Size

    79 of 88

    Astronomical Regions

    Southern
    Circumpolar (southern)
  • Cir - Circinus the Drafting Compasses (35)

    IAU Constellation

    Cir - Circinus the Drafting Compass

    Size

    85 of 88

    Astronomical Regions

    Southern
    Circumpolar (southern)
  • Cru - Crux the Southern Cross

    IAU Constellation

    Cru - Crux the Southern Cross

    Size

    88 of 88

    Astronomical Regions

    Southern
    Circumpolar (southern)

    Intro and Visual description

    When looking for the Southern Cross, beware of two similar asterisms nearby, both of which point more toward the Large Magellenic Cloud (in the constellation Dorado) than toward the south celestial pole: 

    1. The Diamond Cross (in Carina).
    2. The False Cross (between Carina and Vela).

    The real Crux has two unmistakable marks, which will help you be sure you’ve found the real thing: 

  • Mus - Musca the Fly

    IAU Constellation

    Mus - Musca the Fly

    Size

    77 of 88

    Astronomical Regions

    Southern
    Circumpolar (southern)
  • Apis the Bee

  • Bayer, Uranometria (1661): Southern stars

    Image

    Bayer-1661-49-Aaa-south

    Clockwise from top center: Pavo, Apis, Triangulum Australe, Musca, Chamaeleon, Volans, Dorado, Nubecula Major, Phoenix (left margin), Grus (outside upper left), Indus (left of Pavo), Tucana (below Grus), Hydrus (below Tucana, near center), and Nubecula Minor (just under Hydrus). 

  • Bayer, Uranometria (1661): Musca

    Image

    Bayer-1661-49-south-Mus
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IAU Constellation Main Page

Tau - Taurus the Bull

IAU Constellation

Tau - Taurus the Bull

Size

17 of 88

Astronomical Regions

Zodiac
Northern
Equatorial

Intro and Visual description

Taurus the Bull is easily spotted. Its head is the Hyades, a V-shaped cluster of stars. His horns point outward from the V. Aldebaran is the red eye of the Bull as he charges down upon us.

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| And | Ant | Aps | Aql | Aqr | Ara | Ari | Aur | Boo | Cae | Cam | Cap | Car | Cas | Cen | Cep | Cet | Cha | Cir | CMa | CMi | Cnc | Col | Com | CrA | CrB | Crt | Cru | Crv | CVn | Cyg | Del | Dor | Dra | Equ | Eri | For | Gem | Gru | Her | Hor | Hya | Hyi | Ind | Lac | Leo | Lep | Lib | LMi | Lup | Lyn | Lyr | Men | Mic | Mon | Mus | Nor | Oct | Oph | Ori | Pav | Peg | Per | Phe | Pic | PsA | Psc | Pup | Pyx | Ret | Scl | Sco | Sct | Ser | Sex | Sge | Sgr | Tau | Tel | TrA | Tri | Tuc | UMa | UMi | Vel | Vir | Vol | Vul |

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Kerry Magruder, Brent Purkaple, and Aja Tolman, editors, "The Sky Tonight: Cultural Archaeology of the Stars" (December 21, 2019 - ongoing), skytonight.org.


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