Caelum

For the cargo ship, see USS Caelum (AK-106).

Caelum

Constellation
List of stars in Caelum
Abbreviation	Cae
Genitive	Caeli
Pronunciation	/ˈsiːləm/, genitive /ˈsiːlaɪ/
Symbolism	the chisel
Right ascension	5 h
Declination	−40°
Quadrant	SQ1
Area	125 sq. deg. (81st)
Main stars	4
Bayer/Flamsteed stars	8
Stars with planets	0
Stars brighter than 3.00m	0
Stars within 10.00 pc (32.62 ly)	1
Brightest star	α Cae (4.45m)
Nearest star	RR Cae (26.31 ly, 8.07 pc)
Messier objects	0
Meteor showers	None
Bordering constellations	Columba Lepus Eridanus Horologium Dorado Pictor
Visible at latitudes between +40° and −90°. Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of January.

Caelum (pron.: /ˈsiːləm/) is a faint constellation in the southern sky, introduced in the 1750s by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille. Its name means "the chisel" in Latin, and it was formerly known as Caelum Scalptorium, "the engraver's chisel". It is the eighth smallest constellation, with an area just less than that of Corona Australis.

Notable features

The constellation Caelum as it can be seen by the naked eye.

See also: List of stars in Caelum

Caelum is a faint constellation, having no star brighter than fourth magnitude. Its brightest star is the magnitude 4.45 α Caeli.

• α Cae is a white-hued main sequence star of magnitude 4.4, 66 light-years from Earth.

• β Cae is a white star of magnitude 5.0, 90 light-years from Earth.

• γ Cae is a double star with an orange-hued primary of magnitude 4.6 and a secondary of magnitude 8.1. The primary is 185 light-years from Earth. It is difficult to resolve in small amateur telescopes because of the difference in visual magnitude and the close separation of the two components.

• δ Cae is a blue-white hued star of magnitude 5.1, 710 light-years from Earth.

Caelum contains the galaxies NGC 1571, NGC 1679 and IC 2106. Larger telescopes are needed to see several NGC objects, all galaxies, but none brighter than magnitude 11.5 or larger than 3 arcminutes.

Namesakes

USS Caelum (AK-106) was a United States Navy ship named after the constellation.

References

Citations

References

• Ridpath, Ian; Wil Tirion (2001), Stars and Planets Guide, Princeton University Press, ISBN 0-691-08913-2 
• Ridpath, Ian (2007), Stars and Planets Guide, Wil Tirion (4th ed.), Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-13556-4 

External links

• Starry Night Photography - Caelum Constellation
• Star Tales – Caelum