A little constellation in the far southern sky is called Musca (Latin for "the fly"). It first appeared on a celestial globe with a diameter of 35 cm (14 in) that was published in Amsterdam in 1597/ 58 by Petrus Plancius and Jodocus Hondius. It was one of the twelve constellations that Plancius produced based on observations made by Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman. In Johann Bayer's Uranometria from 1603, this constellation first appeared in a celestial atlas. For two hundred years, it was also known by the Latin name Apis, which means "the bee." For most observers in the Northern Hemisphere, Musca is still below the horizon.
The Scorpius-Centaurus association is a loose collection of hot, blue-white stars that has a common origin and travels across the Milky Way. Many of the constellation's brighter stars are members of this association. These include the stars Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Zeta2, and (possibly) Eta Muscae as well as HD 100546, a blue-white Herbig Ae/Be star encircled by a complicated debris disc that may include a giant planet or brown dwarf as well as a potential protoplanet. There have been discovered to be planets in two other star systems. Additionally, there are two naked eye cepheid variables in the constellation. The brightest star in the triple star system Theta Muscae is a Wolf-Rayet star. |
History
The constellation of Musca was one of the twelve that Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius named after observations of the southern sky made by Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman, two Dutch explorers who had travelled to the East Indies on the Eerste Schipvaart, the first Dutch trading expedition. It was listed in De Houtman's 1598 Southern Star Catalog under the Dutch name De Vlieghe, or "The Fly." They chose four stars to represent the constellation: Beta Muscae, which would eventually stand in for the head, Gamma, which would stand in for the torso, and Alpha and Delta, which would stand in for the left and right wings, respectively. (Knobel 1917) Although nameless, it originally appeared on a celestial globe with a diameter of 35 cm (14 in) that was printed in Amsterdam in 1598 by Plancius and Jodocus Hondius. In the German cartographer, Johann Bayer's Uranometria from 1603, this constellation was first shown in a celestial atlas under the name Apis, or "the Bee," by which it was known for the following two centuries. It is shown feeding the nearby constellation Chamaeleon in a 1603 celestial globe by Willem Blaeu, with its tongue reaching out to catch the bug. |
On the 1756 version of his planisphere of the southern heavens, the French traveller and astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille designated it la Mouche. While Lacaille Latinized the term for his 1763 revision of Coelum Australe Stelliferum, Jean Fortin kept the French name for his Atlas Céleste. Lacaille changed its name to Musca Australis, the Southern Fly—Australis, to distinguish it from Apus and because it corresponded to the now-discontinued constellation of Musca Borealis, which consisted of a few stars in Aries. The name is now just Musca. It is the only recognised constellation with an insect representation. (Streicher 2006)
Alpha and Beta Muscae, along with Beta and Kappa Crucis, were known as "Ornate Hawk-double Eagle's flutes" by the Kalapalo people of Brazil's Mato Grosso state. (Basso 1987) The Central Arena, a sacred area surrounding the constellation Crux that depicts the lightning creation beings and is where they teach Wardaman customs, is where the Wardaman people of the Northern Territory in Australia saw the main stars of Musca as a ceremonial boomerang. Alpha and Beta also stood for a ceremonial headband, while Gamma and Delta stood for two armbands. (Harney et al., 2004) The Arrernte and Luritja peoples of central Australia who resided in Hermannsburg on a mission saw the Milky Way as dividing the sky between them, with the west denoting Luritja camps and the east representing Arrernte camps. Along with Fomalhaut, the Musca cast members
Alpha and Beta Muscae, along with Beta and Kappa Crucis, were known as "Ornate Hawk-double Eagle's flutes" by the Kalapalo people of Brazil's Mato Grosso state. (Basso 1987) The Central Arena, a sacred area surrounding the constellation Crux that depicts the lightning creation beings and is where they teach Wardaman customs, is where the Wardaman people of the Northern Territory in Australia saw the main stars of Musca as a ceremonial boomerang. Alpha and Beta also stood for a ceremonial headband, while Gamma and Delta stood for two armbands. (Harney et al., 2004) The Arrernte and Luritja peoples of central Australia who resided in Hermannsburg on a mission saw the Milky Way as dividing the sky between them, with the west denoting Luritja camps and the east representing Arrernte camps. Along with Fomalhaut, the Musca cast members
Characteristics
Crux, Carina, Chamaeleon, Apus, Circinus, and Centaurus are Musca's neighbours on the north, west, south, east, and northeast, respectively. It is the 77th largest constellation out of eighty-eight, taking up 138 square degrees or 0.335 percent of the night sky. (Bagnall 2012) The International Astronomical Union chose the three-letter abbreviation "Mus" for the constellation in 1922. (Russell 1922) A polygon with six segments, established by Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte in 1930, defines the limits of the recognised constellations. These borders' right ascension values in the equatorial coordinate system range from 11h 19.3m to 13h 51.1m, while their declination coordinates fall between 64.64° and 75.68°. Observers south of latitude 14°N can see the entire constellation.
Crux, Carina, Chamaeleon, Apus, Circinus, and Centaurus are Musca's neighbours on the north, west, south, east, and northeast, respectively. It is the 77th largest constellation out of eighty-eight, taking up 138 square degrees or 0.335 percent of the night sky. (Bagnall 2012) The International Astronomical Union chose the three-letter abbreviation "Mus" for the constellation in 1922. (Russell 1922) A polygon with six segments, established by Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte in 1930, defines the limits of the recognised constellations. These borders' right ascension values in the equatorial coordinate system range from 11h 19.3m to 13h 51.1m, while their declination coordinates fall between 64.64° and 75.68°. Observers south of latitude 14°N can see the entire constellation.
Deep-sky Objects
NGC 5189 – Planetary Nebula
MyCn 18 – Planetary Nebula – Engraved Hourglass Nebula
IC 4191 – Planetary Nebula
NGC 4071 – Diffuse Planetary Nebula
TGU H1867 – (Coalsack Nebula) Dark Nebula
NGC 4463 – Open Cluster
NGC 4833 – Globular Cluster
NGC 4372 – Globular Cluster (Smaller and fainter)
BHR 80 - Dark Doodad Nebula – Dark Nebula
BHR 71 – Dark Nebula
Main stars - 6
Bayer stars - 13
Stars with planets - 3
Stars brighter than magnitude 3.00 - 1
Stars within 32 Ly - 1
Bordering
constellations
NGC 5189 – Planetary Nebula
MyCn 18 – Planetary Nebula – Engraved Hourglass Nebula
IC 4191 – Planetary Nebula
NGC 4071 – Diffuse Planetary Nebula
TGU H1867 – (Coalsack Nebula) Dark Nebula
NGC 4463 – Open Cluster
NGC 4833 – Globular Cluster
NGC 4372 – Globular Cluster (Smaller and fainter)
BHR 80 - Dark Doodad Nebula – Dark Nebula
BHR 71 – Dark Nebula
Main stars - 6
Bayer stars - 13
Stars with planets - 3
Stars brighter than magnitude 3.00 - 1
Stars within 32 Ly - 1
Bordering
constellations
- Apus
- Carina
- Centaurus
- Chamaeleon
- Circinus
- Crux