A little constellation in the southern sky is called Phoenix. It was initially represented on a celestial atlas by Johann Bayer in his 1603 Uranometria and was named after the mythological phoenix. The brighter stars were catalogued and given Bayer labels in 1756 by the French traveller and astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille. The constellation spans approximately 23.5 hours to 2.5 hours of right ascension and 39° to 57° of declination. The Southern Birds are the constellations Phoenix, Grus, Pavo, and Tucana.
Ankaa, an Arabic term that means "the Phoenix," is the name of the brightest star, Alpha Phoenicis. It has an apparent magnitude of 2.4 and is an orange giant. The following object is Beta Phoenicis, a binary system made up of two yellow giants with a total apparent magnitude of 3.3. The constellation Nu Phoenicis has a dust disc, ten-star systems with known planets, and the recently found galaxy clusters El Gordo and the Phoenix Cluster, which are both among the largest objects in the observable universe and are 7.2 and 5.7 billion light years away, respectively. The December Phoenicid meteor shower and the July Phoenicid meteor shower both have Phoenix as their radiant. |
History
The largest of the twelve constellations named by Petrus Plancius based on observations made by Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman was the Phoenix. It initially appeared on a celestial globe with a 35-cm diameter that Plancius and Jodocus Hondius published in Amsterdam in 1597 or 1598. In Johann Bayer's Uranometria from 1603, this constellation first appeared in a celestial atlas. The following year, De Houtman placed it in his southern star catalogue as Den voghel Fenicx, "The Bird Phoenix," a reference to the mythological phoenix. One name for the brightest star in the constellation, Ankaa, is derived from the Arabic العنقاء al-‘anqā', which means "the phoenix," and was given to the star after 1800. (Kunitsch & Smart 2006) Contrary to the other constellations proposed by Plancius and La Caille, the Phoenix has a real historical antecedent in ancient astronomy, as the Arabs perceived this formation to be a gryphon or an eagle, or to represent baby ostriches, Al Ri'āl. (Allen 1963) Additionally, the Arabs occasionally pictured the same constellation as Al Zaurak, a boat on the adjacent river Eridanus. (Motz & Nathanson 1991) He noted that rather than being invented, "a Phoenix was in some ways adopted into modern astronomy." (Allen 1963) Ankaa (Alpha Phoenicis), the brightest star in the constellation Phoenix, as well as stars from the nearby constellation Sculptor, were used by the Chinese to symbolise Bakui, a net for trapping birds. Julius Schiller believed that the Phoenix and the nearby constellation of Grus combined represented Aaron the High Priest. (Allen 1963) The Southern Birds are comprised of these two constellations as well as the adjacent Pavo and Tucana. (Moore 2000) |
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Characteristics
Phoenix is a little constellation that is surrounded by the constellations Fornax, Sculptor, Grus, Tucana, which touches the corner of Hydrus to the south, and Eridanus to the east and southeast. Achernar, a brilliant star, is close. (Klepešta & Rükl 1974) The International Astronomical Union chose the three-letter abbreviation "Phe" for the constellation in 1922. (Russell 1922) A polygon of 10 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 23h 26.5m to 02h 25.0m, while their declination coordinates fall between 39.31° and 57.84°.
This indicates that it continues to be low in the sky for anyone living north of the equator and below the horizon for everyone living north of the 40th parallel in the Northern Hemisphere. It is most noticeable in late Southern Hemisphere spring in places like Australia and South Africa. Motz & Nathanson 1991) Ankaa is in the middle of a triangle formed by the brilliant stars Achernar, Fomalhaut, and Beta Ceti which contain the majority of the constellation and can be used to locate it. (Heifetz & Tirion 2007)
Phoenix is a little constellation that is surrounded by the constellations Fornax, Sculptor, Grus, Tucana, which touches the corner of Hydrus to the south, and Eridanus to the east and southeast. Achernar, a brilliant star, is close. (Klepešta & Rükl 1974) The International Astronomical Union chose the three-letter abbreviation "Phe" for the constellation in 1922. (Russell 1922) A polygon of 10 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 23h 26.5m to 02h 25.0m, while their declination coordinates fall between 39.31° and 57.84°.
This indicates that it continues to be low in the sky for anyone living north of the equator and below the horizon for everyone living north of the 40th parallel in the Northern Hemisphere. It is most noticeable in late Southern Hemisphere spring in places like Australia and South Africa. Motz & Nathanson 1991) Ankaa is in the middle of a triangle formed by the brilliant stars Achernar, Fomalhaut, and Beta Ceti which contain the majority of the constellation and can be used to locate it. (Heifetz & Tirion 2007)
Deep-sky Objects
Bayer stars - 25
Stars with planets - 10
Stars brighter than magnitude 3.00 - 1
Stars within 32 Ly - 1
Messier objects - 0
Meteor showers - Phoenicids
Bordering
constellations
- NGC 625 – Dwarf Irregular Galaxy
- NGC 37 – Lenticular Galaxy
- NGC 87 – Diffused Barred Irregular Galaxy
- NGC 88 – Barred Spiral Galaxy
- NGC 89 – Barred Spiral Galaxy
- NGC 92 – Spiral Galaxy
Bayer stars - 25
Stars with planets - 10
Stars brighter than magnitude 3.00 - 1
Stars within 32 Ly - 1
Messier objects - 0
Meteor showers - Phoenicids
Bordering
constellations
- Sculptor
- Grus
- Tucana
- Hydrus
- Eridanus
- Fornax