The constellation Crater is in the southern celestial hemisphere. Its name is derived from the Greek word krater, which refers to a type of cup used to dilute wine. It shows a cup connected with the god Apollo perched on the back of Hydra the water snake and is one of the forty-eight constellations identified by the second-century astronomer Claudius Ptolemy.
In the constellation, there are no stars brighter than the third magnitude. Delta Crateris (magnitude 3.56) and Alpha Crateris (magnitude 4.07), its two brightest stars, are ageing massive orange stars that are cooler and larger than the Sun. A white giant star and a white dwarf star make up the binary star system Beta Crateris. Planets have been discovered in seven star systems. Within the constellation's limits are a few remarkable galaxies, such as Crater 2 and NGC 3981, as well as a famous quasar. |
Mythology
The stars of Crater were possibly merged with those of the crow Corvus in the Babylonian Raven in Babylonian star catalogues dating from at least 1100 BC (MUL.UGA.MUSHEN). In the Babylonian compendium MUL.APIN, the adjacent constellation Hydra represented Ningishzida, the god of the underworld, according to British scientist John H. Rogers. Corvus and Crater, coupled with the water snake Hydra, he claimed, were death emblems that marked the entrance to the underworld. (Rogers 1998) Corvus and Crater also appeared in Mithraism's iconography, which is assumed to have originated in the Middle East before spreading to Ancient Greece and Rome. (Rogers 1998) The crater is associated with a Greek mythology story in which a crow or raven serves Apollo and is dispatched to collect water, but it is delayed when it discovers some figs and waits for them to ripen before eating them. Finally, it returns with a cup of water and a water snake, accusing it of drinking the water. (Condos 1997) Apollo, according to legend, saw through the deception and hurled the crow, cup, and serpent into the heavens. (Ridpath & Tirion 2001) The three constellations were arranged in such a way that the crow was unable to drink from the cup and therefore served as a warning against idolatry. (Condos 1997) Crater had a distinct origin according to Phylarchus. He described how the city of Eleusa, near Troy, was plagued. Demiphon, the ruler, consulted an oracle, who decreed that each year a woman would be sacrificed. Demiphon stated that he would select a damsel by a lottery but excluded his daughters. Demiphon sacrificed his daughter after one noble, Mastusius, complained. Mastusius afterwards slaughtered Demiphon's daughters and fed their blood and wine to the emperor from a cup. When the king learned of the crime, he had Mastusius, and the cup was thrown into the sea. The cup is symbolised by the crater. (Condos 1997) Non-western Astronomy The stars of Crater are part of the constellation of the Vermillion Bird of the South (南方朱雀, Nán Fāng Zhū Què) in Chinese astronomy. They portray Yi, the Red Bird's wings, coupled with some stars from Hydra. The 27th Yi also represents the lunar mansion. Yi, on the other hand, represents a brave bowman in Hydra, his bow made of other stars. Crater was named after the Society Islands constellation Moana-'ohu-noa-'ei-ha'a-moe-hara ("vortex-ocean-in-which-to-lose-crime"). (Henry 1907) |
|
Characteristics
The crater is the 53rd largest constellation in the sky, covering 282.4 square degrees and hence 0.685 percent of the sky. It is bounded on the north by Leo and Virgo, on the east by Corvus, on the south and west by Hydra, and on the northwest by Sextans. The International Astronomical Union selected the three-letter abbreviation "Crt" for the constellation in 1922. (Russell 1922) A six-segment polygon defines the official constellation borders, which were established by Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte in 1930. The right ascension coordinates of these borders are between 10h 51m 14s and 11h 56m 24s in the equatorial coordinate system, while the declination coordinates are between 6.66° and 25.20°. Because of its location in the southern celestial hemisphere, the entire constellation is visible to observers south of 65°N. |
Deep-sky Objects
NGC 3511 – Spiral Galaxy
NGC 3513 – Barred Spiral Galaxy
NGC 3981 – Spiral Galaxy with perturbed spiral arms
NGC 4038 Group – Group of galaxies spread over Crater and Corvus
RX J1131 is a quasar located six billion Ly
Main stars - 4
Bayer stars - 12
Stars with planets - 7
Stars brighter than magnitude 3.00 - 0
Stars within 32 Ly - 0
Bordering
constellations
Meteor showers
Eta Craterids – Mid-January peaking at 16-17th of January
NGC 3511 – Spiral Galaxy
NGC 3513 – Barred Spiral Galaxy
NGC 3981 – Spiral Galaxy with perturbed spiral arms
NGC 4038 Group – Group of galaxies spread over Crater and Corvus
RX J1131 is a quasar located six billion Ly
Main stars - 4
Bayer stars - 12
Stars with planets - 7
Stars brighter than magnitude 3.00 - 0
Stars within 32 Ly - 0
Bordering
constellations
- Leo
- Sextans
- Hydra
- Corvus
- Virgo
Meteor showers
Eta Craterids – Mid-January peaking at 16-17th of January