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| List of stars in Columba | |
| Abbreviation: | Col |
| Genitive: | Columbae |
| Symbolism: | Dove |
| Right ascension: | 6 h |
| Declination: | −35° |
| Area: | 270 sq. deg. (54th) |
| Main stars: | 5 |
| Bayer/Flamsteed stars: |
18 |
| Stars with known planets: |
0 |
| Bright stars: | 1 |
| Nearby stars: | 0 |
| Brightest star: | α Col (Phact) (2.6m) |
| Nearest star: | β Col (Wezn) (86 ly) |
| Messier objects: | 0 |
| Meteor showers: | None |
| Bordering constellations: |
Lepus Caelum Pictor Puppis Canis Major |
| Visible at latitudes between +45° and −90° Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of February |
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Columba (IPA: [kɔˈlumba], /kɔˈlumbʌ/, Latin: dove), is a small constellation just south of Canis Major and Lepus. It was formed from the 'unformed stars' of Canis Major by Petrus Plancius who depicted it on the small celestial planispheres on his large wall map of 1592. It is also shown on his smaller world map of 1594 and on early Dutch celestial globes.
Its original name, as found on early 17th-century celestial globes and star atlases (such as Bayer's Uranometria of 1603[1]), was Columba Noachi. This of course refers to the Torah's and Bible's Dove of Noah that was the first bird to find land after the Deluge.
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Notable features
The constellation is rather inconspicuous, the brightest star α Columbae having the magnitude of 2.65m. α Columbae is called Phact, which comes from Arabic Al-Fakhita (the dove). The only other named star is Beta, β, Columbae, which has the name Wazn or Wezn, from the Arabic for a weight.
The constellation contains the runaway star μ Columbae, which was probably expelled from the ι Orionis system.
Citations
References
- Ian Ridpath and Wil Tirion (2007). Stars and Planets Guide, Collins, London. ISBN 978-0007251209. Princeton University Press, Princeton. ISBN 978-0691135564.
External links
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