Volans

For other uses, see Volans (disambiguation).
Volans
Constellation
Volans
List of stars in Volans
AbbreviationVol
GenitiveVolantis
Pronunciation/ˈvoʊlænz/, genitive /vɒˈlæntɨs/
Symbolismthe Flying Fish
Right ascension8
Declination−70
QuadrantSQ2
Area141 sq. deg. (76th)
Main stars6
Bayer/Flamsteed
stars		12
Stars with planets1
Stars brighter than 3.00m0
Stars within 10.00 pc (32.62 ly)1
Brightest starβ Vol (3.77m)
Messier objects0
Meteor showers0
Bordering
constellations		Carina
Pictor
Dorado
Mensa
Chamaeleon
Visible at latitudes between +15° and −90°.
Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of March.
Painting of a flying fish

The constellation Volans is a group of stars in the southern sky. It is in the shape of a flying fish. The name Volans is a shortened from of its original, Piscis Volans. Volans was one of twelve constellations created by Petrus Plancius. He made these constellations from observations by Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman. Volans first appeared on a 35-cm diameter celestial globe published in 1597 (or 1598) in Amsterdam by Plancius with Jodocus Hondius. The first image of this constellation in a celestial atlas was in Johann Bayer's Uranometria of 1603.

Stars and deep sky objects

Galaxy NGC 2442

There are two double stars in the constellation which can be observed using a small telescope, Gamma Volantis and Epsilon Volantis. There are also two galaxies that may be more difficult to see clearly, NGC 2442 and NGC 2434. The magnitudes of the Gamma Volantis stars are fourth and sixth, and of Epsilon Volantis fourth and eighth.[1][2]

References

  1. ↑ "SEDS". SEDS. August 28, 1997. Archived from the original on 2010-12-30. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
  2. ↑ Ian Ridpath and Wil Tirion (2007). Stars and Planets Guide, Collins, London. ISBN 978-0007251209. Princeton University Press, Princeton. ISBN 978-0691135564.

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