The Southern Cross is the smallest constellation in terms of area, but at the same time it has incredible beauty.
Young, small, but incredibly beautiful
Looking even with the naked eye at the southern hemisphere of the starry sky, you can easily detect about three dozen stars forming this constellation, but for the most part this is all weak glowing stars. Of these, only the four brightest stars - α, β and γ Southern Cross (the first in stellar magnitude) and δ (the second in stellar magnitude) - form a clearly visible cross-shaped figure in the sky.
The Southern Cross constellation is relatively young by astronomical standards; the first information about it in astronomical practice appeared thanks to the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in the 18th century. However, the generally accepted name for this constellation came into use long before this, even during the time of Magellan trip around the world and was used by navigators to distinguish it from the “Northern Cross”, which in the Middle Ages was often called the constellation Cygnus.
"Coal Sack" and "Box of Diamonds"
Dark Coalsack Nebula
The Southern Cross constellation, in whose vastness the “Coalsack” is located, is one of the dark nebulae closest to planet Earth. The distance to it is 490 light years. "Coal bag" represents a cloud cosmic dust high density, which absorbs the light emitted by distant stars and appears as a dark spot clearly visible to the naked eye on the lighter Milky Way. Clusters of cosmic dust, such as the aforementioned “Coal Sack,” have the property of not only scattering and absorbing radiation passing through them, but also polarizing them.
NGC 4755 or Diamond Box
To the east, the constellation is bordered by the open cluster NGC4755, commonly known as the “Box of Diamonds,” a small group of stars of completely different colors that sparkle brightly in the night sky. The total brilliance of all the stars in the “Box of Diamonds” is 5.2 magnitudes. The “Box” is located at a distance of more than 7,500 light years from planet Earth. This cluster of stars was discovered by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1751-1752, who was engaged in astronomical observations in southern Africa.
Location on the starry sky
The Southern Cross is a constellation that is absolutely invisible on Russian territory because... its location is far from celestial equator, in the south. From the east, north and west, the “Cross” is surrounded by the stars of Centaurus (Centaur), and on the southern side it is adjacent to the “Fly”. Finding this constellation is very easy, because... it represents a bright, distinct figure. Help in the search for the “Cross” can also be provided by a pair of fairly bright Centauri stars, the star Rigil Centaurus (a Centauri) and Hadar (b Centauri), located slightly east of the “Southern Cross”. If you draw an imaginary straight line to the west through these stars, it will definitely point directly to the “Southern Cross”.
| List of constellations in the spring sky | |
|---|---|
| ·
·
·
·
·
·
· |
|
| · · | |
Big dog
In the Southern Hemisphere, the appearance of the starry sky changes to opposite, when compared with the North. The movement of the stars here occurs from right to left, and although the Sun rises in the east, the point of the east itself is located on the right, in the place of the west.
Canis Major is one of the brightest, albeit small, constellations located in the southern hemisphere of the sky. The constellation contains the brightest star (after the Sun) - blue-white Sirius, whose magnitude is -1.43.
Translated from Greek, seirios means “brightly burning.” The brightness of the star can be explained by two factors: firstly, the small distance to the star (only 8.6 light years) and its luminosity, which is 23 times greater than that of the Sun.
Wolf
Wolf is a constellation of the Southern Hemisphere, lying on the edge of the Milky Way. On a clear and moonless night, about 70 stars can be seen with the naked eye in the constellation, but only ten of them are brighter than fourth magnitude. Two of them are visible from Russian territory.
Crow
Raven is a small and very beautiful constellation in the southern hemisphere of the sky. Its stars form an irregular quadrangle southwest of Virgo. However, in this figure it is quite difficult to see the bird, which was depicted in ancient atlases at the site of this constellation. In total, on a clear moonless night, about 30 stars can be seen with the naked eye in Raven.
Hydra
Hydra is one of the longest constellations located in the southern hemisphere of the sky. The brightest star is Alphard (alpha Hydra), has a magnitude of 2.0 magnitude. This variable star red color is 30 parsecs away from the Earth. Another variable is long period star R Hydra; located next to the star near Hydra. It resembles the star Mira Ceti: its maximum brightness reaches 3.0", minimum - 10.9", which makes this star invisible to the naked eye. The period of change in its brightness is more than a year - almost 390 days.
Pigeon
The Dove is a small constellation in the southern hemisphere of the sky. At good conditions visibility on a clear and moonless night you can see in the constellation naked eye about 40 stars. Of these, the two brightest stars have magnitude 3 and two have magnitude 4. The rest are at the limit of visibility with the naked eye. The stars of the Dove do not form any characteristic geometric figure.
Unicorn
Monoceros is the equatorial constellation of the southern hemisphere. On a clear and moonless night, up to 85 stars can be seen in the constellation with the naked eye, but these are mostly faint stars. Only the five brightest have magnitudes 4 and 5. The Unicorn stars do not form any characteristic geometric figure and do not have their own names. A very interesting star is T Monoceros, which is a long-period Cepheid. Its gloss changes from 5.6 to 6.6 in 27 days.
Beyond the Equator: Southern Hemisphere Star Map
If, after living your entire life in the Northern Hemisphere, you suddenly find yourself on the other side of the equator - for example, in Australia, South Africa or New Zealand, the starry sky overhead in clear night It will seem unusual and even strange to you. After careful study, you will understand that the whole point lies in a completely different arrangement of the night luminaries in the sky. However, they are also grouped into easily recognizable constellations - constant guiding signs for travelers and sailors.
The constellations of the Southern Hemisphere received their modern names much later than, say, Big Dipper or Orion: the ancient Greeks, who systematized most of the groups of stars familiar to us, did not cross the equator, so in in this case this role fell to the lot of European sailors who headed for India and South America in the 17th-18th centuries.
Name of constellations
In total, there are 88 constellations on the stellar sphere visible from Earth (all of them were finally approved by the International astronomical union in 1930); 40 of them shine over the Southern Hemisphere. Some of the constellations received names rooted in ancient Greek mythology: Centaur, Phoenix, Scorpion. Other names were taken from scientific and maritime terminology or simply from everyday life - for example, Microscope, Bake, Net, Octant.
Among the constellations of the Southern Hemisphere, there are no medium-sized ones: they are either small, compact groups of stars, or large ones, stretching across an impressively sized region of the celestial sphere. Yes, famous Southern Cross- a very small constellation, consisting of only four stars, which, nevertheless, are among the brightest in the night sky. Hydra, on the contrary, consists of 19 stars and dominates one of the relatively empty sectors of stars, stretching along the southern horizon from the constellation Libra to the constellation Cancer. Now it is the largest of the groups of stars, although until 1930 the constellation was still distinguished in the sky of the Southern Hemisphere Argo. However, astronomers came to the conclusion that Argo was too bulky and difficult to distinguish, so four new constellations arose in its place: Keel, Sail, Compass And Stern.
Southern circumpolar zone
Just as in the Northern Hemisphere, the southern stars move slowly across the sky during the night due to the rotation of the Earth around its axis. However, there is no such convenient “pointer” as the familiar Polar Star, and the imaginary point South Pole the world is located in the sky in the constellation Octant.
Southern circumpolar zone- this is the region of the celestial sphere located within 40º from the South Pole of the world; the stars related to it do not hide behind the horizon at any time of the night or year. (In fact, they do not leave the sky during the day, only their shine is naturally eclipsed by the radiance of the Sun; in near-equatorial regions they rise from the horizon in the east and slowly move westward during the night.)
Groups of stars that are entirely included in the southern circumpolar zone include the constellations of the Southern Cross, Chameleon, flies, Southern Triangle, Pavlina, Hours, Flying Fish and others.
Low on the horizon
Many constellations in the Southern Hemisphere appear in the sky only in certain time year - just as it happens in Northern. This phenomenon caused by a combination of inclination earth's axis with the movement of our planet in orbit around the Sun. For example, Keel And cup It is best to observe in the spring, when they rise high enough above the horizon. Libra and the Southern Cross - in summer, the constellation Phoenix and Capricorn- in the fall, and Eridani And Kita- in winter.
Such a circulation not only gives us the opportunity to determine what time of year or hour of the morning it is, but also greatly helps astronomers: by moving in the sky, the stars can take a more favorable position for observations - or, conversely, by leaving the field of view of telescopes, they can free up required area celestial sphere.
Galaxy and nebulae
One of the most spectacular sights in a clear night sky is the jagged band of transparent light stretching diagonally across celestial sphere. This Milky Way - our galaxy, the light of an uncountable number of stars, which travels to us for tens of thousands, or even millions of years. And although this huge formation has the shape of a spiral disk (at the end of one of the branches of which the Solar System is located), for us it remains a stripe, since we look at it from the side. The Milky Way is equally visible in both hemispheres, but its brightest part is in the southern constellation Sagittarius.
Located so many light years away from us (63,240 AU or 9.463 x 10 12 km), all these luminaries, naturally, cannot be distinguished with the naked eye - just like the stars of other galaxies located even further away. However, these galaxies themselves can sometimes be seen without special optics: these are, in particular, Carina Nebula And Orion Nebula, located in the constellations of the same name. Besides, powerful telescopes at least a little, but they bring our neighbors in the Universe closer to us - it is known, for example, that the galaxy NGC 2997, located in the constellation Pump, like ours, is a gas-dust formation penetrated by myriads of stars.
Many of us love look at the starry night sky, look for familiar constellations and imagine mysterious figures inside them. All these stars, except the one that illuminates the Earth and gives it warmth, are located outside solar system and seem very tiny, despite the fact that they are many times larger than any of its planets. What do they really look like? Take a closer look at them is possible only with the help of very powerful technology located in Earth orbit, and this information can be available to us on the Internet, we just need to search better.
What is a star map? Its varieties
Star map- it can be interactive or in the form of an ordinary picture. This is an image showing the location of stars and constellations in the sky. The most optimal and easiest to use is a star map compiled in two projections, where the equatorial part of the sky is presented in a cylindrical projection, and the poles in an azimuthal one. Moreover, due to some distortions, some of the constellations may appear on both the equatorial and polar projections, but this is not a big disadvantage when working with this tool. Such a map is freely available on the Internet in quite good quality in jpeg resolution.
More accurate and professional - interactive constellation map, or as it is also called, an online star map. There are quite a lot of them. The most famous and well-developed are Google Sky and Photopic Sky Survey. They allow you not only to view the general projection of the starry sky, but also to bring each of the stars and constellations closer, and also to see those of them that are inaccessible even to telescopes located on Earth, not to mention the naked eye. They were compiled based on numerous images taken by the telescope Hubble, located in orbit. Also, there is another service - Google Earth , it combines Google Sky And Google Map.
A little history
Northern Hemisphere Star Map
Among the constellations of the northern hemisphere you can find such as Ursa Major and Ursa Minor(in the form of buckets). We are accustomed to thinking that they consist of 7 stars each, but in fact this is not so, it’s just that the rest of the stars included in the bucket are very small and therefore not visible to us). Also, in the northern hemisphere we can observe Cassiopeia (represents a zigzag of 6 large stars), the constellation Cepheus (closed pentagon), Hercules, Draco, Andromeda, Perseus, Canes Venatici (2 big stars at a short distance), Swan. And of course, the main landmark of all sailors and travelers is the polar star, which is at the head of Ursa Minor.
There is a very famous story about how travelers, after crossing the Equator and finding themselves in the Southern Hemisphere, lost sight of North Star, thereby losing the correct course. After all, the picture of the starry sky also changes with different movements around planet Earth. Moreover, the picture of the starry sky changes for us with the onset of a new season, as the Earth moves in the orbit of the solar system.
Southern Hemisphere Star Map
The constellations located on this part of the map are almost unknown to the inhabitants of the northern hemisphere of the Earth; they cannot be seen from here, just as you cannot see the constellations Northern Hemisphere, when you are in Yuzhny. It is represented by such constellations as Velas, Carina, Centaurus, Wolf, Scorpio, Southern Triangle (received this name because it has the shape isosceles triangle), Southern Hydra, Phoenix, Peacock, Sagittarius, Crane.
Equatorial belt
IN equatorial belt you can see constellations that we have encountered before in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. At the equator itself there are the following constellations:
- Aquarius
- Capricorn
- Sagittarius
- Twins
- Taurus
As you can see, all these constellations correspond to the horoscope (each person, depending on the time of his birth, assigns himself to one or another group according to the horoscope, that is, to one or another constellation).
Interactive star map
Now a little about access to the star map in a more complex and accurate format. Programs that allow you to travel through the starry sky online, find the constellations and objects you need using search, move closer and further from them, move in star space, learn new useful information and scientific data about the object. In order to find out additional information, such as the name, exact coordinates, age of the star, belonging to any constellation, average distance from the Earth, you just need to click on it with the mouse. In addition, you can get data on all photos and external articles about a given star. This information can be obtained on the object page.
There are a total of 88 constellations in the sky - quite large number. Not all of them are visible to the naked eye, but interactive maps From the starry sky, you can obtain images of even the most distant planets in the solar system.
In addition to the most famous interactive resources star maps, there are small sites with online maps that do not give additional information, but only show full picture sky, and accordingly, are easier to manage.
Ancient astronomers, peering into the night sky, noticed that some stars were located close to each other, while others were far away. Nearby luminaries were united into groups or constellations. They began to play in people's lives important role. This was especially true for the sailors of merchant ships, who used the stars to determine the direction of movement of their ships.
The first constellation map appeared in the 2nd century BC. uh. It was created by one of the greatest Greek astronomers, Hipparchus of Nicaea. While working at the Library of Alexandria, he compiled a catalog of 850 stars visible to the naked eye. He distributed all these luminaries among 48 constellations.
The final point on this issue was put by the Greek astronomer Claudius Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD. He wrote his famous monograph "Almagest". In it he outlined all the astronomical knowledge that existed at that time. This work was unshakable for a whole millennium until the appearance of the greatest scientist from Khorezm, Al-Bruni, at the beginning of the 11th century.
In the 15th century, the German astronomer and mathematician Johann Müller (not to be confused with the biologist Johann Peter Müller) founded one of the first astronomical laboratories in Nuremberg. On the initiative of this respected master, astronomical tables based on the works of Ptolemy were published.
With these first cards starry sky used by such famous navigators as Vasco da Gama and Christopher Columbus. The latter, guided by them, crossed in 1492 Atlantic Ocean and reached the shores of South America.
The German artist and engraver Albrecht Dürer became acquainted with the works of Johann Müller, who is better known under the nickname Regiomontanus. It is thanks to his skill that in 1515 the first printed map of the constellations appeared. Those on it were depicted in the form of figures from Greek mythology. This was the beginning of the publication of celestial atlases.
They tried to reflect the brightness of the stars in descending order. For this they began to use letters Greek alphabet. The most bright luminaries within the constellations the letter "alpha" was assigned. Then came the letter "beta", "gamma" and so on. This principle is still used today.
In the 17th century, Polish astronomer and telescope designer Jan Hevelius compiled a catalog that included 1,564 stars.. He also indicated their coordinates on the celestial sphere.
The modern names of the constellations and their boundaries were finally established by international agreement in 1922. There are 88 constellations in total, and their names are mostly borrowed from ancient greek mythology. Each cluster of stars also has a common Latin name. This is to astronomers speaking different languages, understood each other.
constellation map,
located in the sky of the Northern Hemisphere
The picture above shows celestial map of the Northern Hemisphere. It includes the following constellations: Andromeda (1), Ursa Major (2), Auriga (3), Bootes (4), Coma Berenices (5), Hercules (6), Canes Venatici (7), Dolphin (8), Dragon (9), Giraffe (10), Cassiopeia (13), Swan (14), Lyra (15), Chanterelle (16), Ursa Minor (17), Little Horse (18), Little Lion (19), Pegasus (21 ), Perseus (22), Lynx (23), Northern Crown (24), Arrow (25), Triangle (26), Cepheus (27), Lizard (29), Hydra (33), Unicorn (35), Whale ( 43), Canis Minor (47), Orion (53).
The white circles contain the numbers of the Zodiac constellations: Aries (77), Taurus (78), Gemini (79), Cancer (80), Leo (81), Virgo (82), Pisces (88).
The figure below shows celestial map of the southern hemisphere. These include: Ophiuchus (11), Snake (12), Eagle (20), Shield (28), Canis Major (30), Wolf (31), Raven (32), Dove (34), Altar (36), Painter (37), Crane (38), Hare (39), Goldfish (40), Indian (41), Keel (42), Compass (44), Poop (45), Flying Fish (46), Microscope (48 ), Fly (49), Pump (50), Square (51), Octant (52), Peacock (54), Sails (55), Furnace (56), Bird of Paradise (57), Cutter (58), Sextant ( 59), Grid (60), Sculptor (61), Table Mountain (62), Telescope (63), Toucan (64), Phoenix (65), Chameleon (66), Centaurus (67), Compasses (68), Clock (69), Chalice (70), Eridanus (71), Southern Hydra (72), Southern Crown (73), Southern Fish (74), Southern Cross (75), Southern Triangle (76).
The white circles show the numbers corresponding to the following Zodiac constellations: Libra (83), Scorpio (84), Sagittarius (85), Capricorn (86), Aquarius (87).
constellation map,
located in the sky of the Southern Hemisphere
The most famous constellation in the Northern Hemisphere is Ursa Major. These are 7 bright stars forming a bucket. If you draw a straight line through its “wall” opposite the “handle” (the stars Dubhe and Merak), then it will rest against the North Star, that is, it will indicate the northern direction. Over the centuries, the position of these stars in the sky changes. Therefore, several thousand years ago the outline of the ladle did not look the same as it does today.
The constellation map would lose a lot without Orion. Its brightest star is called Betelgeuse. And the second brightest is called Rigel. Three second magnitude stars form Orion's belt. To the south you can find the most bright star night sky, which is called Sirius. She enters the constellation Big Dog. Still, the diversity and beauty of the night sky is impossible to describe. This must be seen and admired cosmic forces who are capable of creating such splendor.
