What is the brightest star in the constellation Musca?
Alpha Muscae
Alpha Muscae (α Muscae, α Mus) is a star in the southern circumpolar constellation of Musca. With an apparent visual magnitude of +2.7, it is the brightest star in the constellation. The distance to this star has been determined using parallax measurements, giving an estimate of about from Earth.
Indus (constellation)
Indus does not contain any bright stars. Alpha Indi, the brightest star in the constellation, is an orange giant of magnitude 3.1, 101 light-years from Earth. Beta Indi is an orange giant of magnitude 3.7, 600 light-years from Earth. Delta Indi is a white star of magnitude 4.4, 185 light-years from Earth.
NGC 5316
There are 570 probable member stars within the angular radius of the cluster and 262 within the central part of the cluster. The tidal radius of the cluster is 6.0 - 8.1 parsecs (19 - 26 light years) and represents the average outer limit of NGC 5316, beyond which a star is unlikely to remain gravitationally bound to the cluster core. The brightest member of the cluster (lucida) is star No. 31 (mag. 9.40). Star 31 has significantly more barium than the rest of the group and the Ba II line is visually stronger than the rest of the cluster. The turn-off mass of the cluster is estimated to be at 5.0 . The hottest stars of the cluster are of spectral type B5–B7. NGC 5316 has metallicity nearly the same as the solar one ([Fe/H] = −0.02 ± 0.05).
Eta Carinae
Located between Canopus and the Southern Cross, Eta Carinae is easily pinpointed as the brightest star within the large naked eye Carina Nebula. In a telescope the "star" is framed within the dark "V" dust lane of the nebula and appears distinctly orange and clearly non-stellar. High magnification will show the two orange lobes of a surrounding reflection nebula known as the Homunculus Nebula on either side of a bright central core. Variable star observers can compare its brightness with several 4th- and 5th-magnitude stars closely surrounding the nebula.
Aries (constellation)
The obsolete constellations introduced in Aries (Musca Borealis, Lilium, Vespa, and Apes) have all been composed of the northern stars. Musca Borealis was created from the stars 33 Arietis, 35 Arietis, 39 Arietis, and 41 Arietis. In 1612, Petrus Plancius introduced Apes, a constellation representing a bee. In 1624, the same stars were used by Jakob Bartsch to create a constellation called Vespa, representing a wasp. In 1679 Augustin Royer used these stars for his constellation Lilium, representing the fleur-de-lis. None of these constellation became widely accepted. Johann Hevelius renamed the constellation "Musca" in 1690 in his "Firmamentum Sobiescianum". To differentiate it from Musca, the southern fly, it was later renamed Musca Borealis but it did not gain acceptance and its stars were ultimately officially reabsorbed into Aries.
Musca Borealis
The brightest star is now known as 41 Arietis. At magnitude 3.63, it is a blue-white main sequence star of spectral type B8V around 166 light-years distant. 39 Arietis is an orange giant star of magnitude 4.51 and spectral type K1.5III that is around 171 light-years distant.
Lambda Muscae
Lambda Muscae has a listed spectral type of A7V. The A7 portion of this designation that Lambda Muscae is a class A7 star, meaning the light it emits is bluish-white in color and burns at a temperature significantly hotter than the sun, which is a G2 star. A7 stars are on the larger end of the Harvard spectral classification list, being only smaller and dimmer than Class-O and Class-B stars.
Beta Muscae
Beta Muscae, Latinized from β Muscae, is a binary star in the southern circumpolar constellation of Musca. With a combined apparent visual magnitude of 3.07, it is the second brightest star (or star system) in the constellation. Judging by the parallax results, it is located at a distance of roughly from the Earth.
Musca
Musca was one of the 12 constellations established by the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius from the observations of the southern sky by the Dutch explorers Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman, who had sailed on the first Dutch trading expedition, known as the "Eerste Schipvaart", to the East Indies. De Houtman included it in his southern star catalogue in 1598 under the Dutch name "De Vlieghe", "The Fly". They assigned four stars to the constellation, with a star that would be later designated as Beta Muscae marking the head, Gamma the body, and Alpha and Delta the left and right wings, respectively. It first appeared on a 35-cm-diameter (14-in) celestial globe published in 1598 in Amsterdam by Plancius with Jodocus Hondius, though was unnamed. The first depiction of this constellation in a celestial atlas was in the German cartographer Johann Bayer's "Uranometria" of 1603, though Bayer termed it Apis— "the Bee", a name by which it was known for the next two centuries. A 1603 celestial globe by Willem Blaeu depicts it as providing nourishment for the nearby constellation Chamaeleon—its tongue trying to catch the insect.
Capella
Capella was the brightest star in the night sky from 210,000 years ago to 160,000 years ago, at about −1.8 in apparent magnitude. At −1.1, Aldebaran was brightest before this period; it and Capella were situated rather close to each other in the sky and approximated boreal pole stars at the time.
Musca in Chinese astronomy
The map of Chinese constellation in constellation Musca area consists of:
Zeta2 Muscae
Zeta Muscae, Latinized from ζ Muscae, is a star in the southern constellation of Musca. Its apparent magnitude is 5.16. This is a white main sequence star of spectral type A5V around 330 light-years distant from Earth. Like several other stars in the constellation, it is a member of the Lower Centaurus Crux subgroup of the Scorpius–Centaurus Association, a group of predominantly hot blue-white stars that share a common origin and proper motion across the galaxy. It is part of a triple star system with faint companions at 0.5 and 32.4 arc seconds distance. The former is an infrared source, the latter has a visual magnitude of 10.7.
Gamma Sagittae
Gamma Sagittae, Latinized from γ Sagittae, is the brightest star in northern constellation of Sagitta. A single star, it is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of +3.47. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 12.62 mas as seen from Earth, it is located about 258 light years from the Sun. It is moving closer to the Sun with a radial velocity of −34 km/s.
Alpha Monocerotis
Alpha Monocerotis, Latinized from α Monocerotis, is the Bayer designation for the brightest star in the equatorial constellation of Monoceros. It can be viewed with the naked eye, having an apparent visual magnitude of 3.94. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 22.07 mas as seen from Earth, it is located 148 light years away from the Sun. The star is moving away from the Sun with a radial velocity of +10.5 km/s.
NGC 4463
NGC 4463 is an open cluster in the constellation Musca.
Theta Muscae
Theta Muscae (θ Muscae) is a multiple star system in the constellation Musca ("the Fly") with an apparent magnitude of 5.5. It is the second-brightest Wolf–Rayet star in the sky, although much of the visual brightness comes from the massive companions and it is not one of the closest of its type.
Capella
Capella, also designated α Aurigae (Latinized to Alpha Aurigae, abbreviated Alpha Aur, α Aur), is the brightest object in the constellation of Auriga, the sixth-brightest star in the night sky, and the third-brightest in the northern celestial hemisphere after Arcturus and Vega. A prominent object in the northern winter sky, it is circumpolar to observers north of 44°N. Its name meaning "little goat" in Latin, Capella depicted the goat Amalthea that suckled Zeus in classical mythology. The Capella system is relatively close, at only from the Sun.
Iota Muscae
The Bayer designation ι Muscae (Iota Muscae) is shared by two stars in the constellation Musca:
Lynx (constellation)
10 Ursae Majoris is the third-brightest star in Lynx. Originally in the neighbouring constellation Ursa Major, it became part of Lynx with the official establishment of the constellation's borders. Appearing to be of magnitude 3.97, a telescope reveals a yellow-white main sequence star of spectral type F4V of magnitude 4.11 and a star very similar to the Sun of spectral type G5V and magnitude 6.18. The two are 10.6 astronomical units (au) apart and orbit each other every 21.78 years. The system is 52.4 ± 0.6 light-years distant from Earth. Likewise 16 Lyncis was originally known as Psi Aurigae and conversely, 37, 39, 41 and 44 Lyncis became part of Ursa Major.
Epsilon Canis Majoris
Epsilon Canis Majoris (Latinised from ε Canis Majoris, abbreviated Epsilon CMa, ε CMa) is a binary star and, despite being designated ε (epsilon), the second-brightest object in the constellation of Canis Major and one of the brightest stars in the night sky with an apparent magnitude of 1.50. About 4.7 million years ago, it was the brightest star in the sky, with an apparent magnitude of −3.99. Based upon parallax measurements obtained during the Hipparcos mission, it is about 430 light-years distant from the Sun.
Zeta Muscae
The Bayer designation ζ Muscae (Zeta Muscae, ζ Mus) is shared by two stars in the constellation Musca:
Eta Muscae
Eta Muscae (η Mus) is a star in the constellation Musca. A multiple star system, the two main components form an eclipsing binary that has a spectral type of B8V and an apparent magnitude of 4.77 that dips by 0.05 magnitude every 2.39 days. Further away are stars of magnitude 7.3 and 10—termed Eta Muscae B and C. It is unclear if these stars are gravitationally bound to the main pair.
Fomalhaut in fiction
Fomalhaut (α Piscis Austrini) is a class A star on the main sequence approximately from the Sun. It is the brightest star in the constellation of Piscis Austrinus and at magnitude 1.2 is one of the brightest stars in the sky.
Coma Berenices
Gamma Comae Berenices (15 Comae Berenices) is an orange-hued giant star with a magnitude of 4.4 and a spectral class of K1III C. In the southwestern part of the constellation, it is 169 ± 2 light-years from Earth, Estimated to be around 1.79 times as massive as the Sun, it has expanded to around 10 times its radius. It is the brightest star in the Coma Star Cluster. With Alpha Comae Berenices and Beta Comae Berenices, Gamma Comae Berenices forms a 45-degree isosceles triangle from which Berenice's imaginary tresses hang.
Mu Muscae
This is an evolved K-type giant star with a stellar classification of K4 III. It most likely on the red giant branch, rather than the asymptotic giant branch, and shows no signs of mass loss. Mu Muscae is an oxygen-rich irregular variable with a small amplitude that varies in visual magnitude between 4.71 and 4.76. It is radiating 465 times the luminosity of the Sun from its photosphere at an effective temperature of 4,086 K.
Nova Muscae 2018
Nova Muscae 2018 (formerly "PNV J11261220-6531086") is a bright nova in the constellation Musca, right ascension , declination (J2000.0). It was discovered on January 14, 2018 by Rob Kaufman of Bright, Victoria, Australia with a magnitude of 7.0.
Musca
Beta Muscae is a binary star system around 341 light-years distant that is composed of two blue-white main-sequence stars of spectral types B2V and B3V that orbit each other every 194 years. They are eight and six times as massive as the Sun, respectively, and have about 3.5 times its diameter. Zeta Muscae is a white main sequence star of spectral type A5V around 330 light-years distant from Earth. It is part of a triple star system with faint companions at 0.5 and 32.4 arc seconds distance. Eta Muscae is a multiple star system, the two main components forming an eclipsing binary that has a combined spectral type of B8V and magnitude of 4.77 that dips by 0.05 magnitude every 2.39 days. Alpha, Beta, Gamma, HD 103079, Zeta and (likely) Eta are all members of the Lower Centaurus Crux subgroup of the Scorpius–Centaurus Association, a group of predominantly hot blue-white stars that share a common origin and proper motion across the galaxy.
II Lupi
II Lupi (IRAS 15194-5115) is a Mira variable and carbon star located in the constellation Lupus. It is the brightest carbon star in the Southern Hemisphere at 12 μm.
Scutum (constellation)
Scutum is not a bright constellation, with the brightest star, Alpha Scuti, at magnitude 3.85. But some stars are notable in the constellation. Beta Scuti is the second brightest at magnitude 4.22, followed by Delta Scuti at magnitude 4.72. Beta Scuti is a binary system, with the primary with a spectral type similar to the Sun, although it is 1,270 times brighter. Delta Scuti is a bluish white giant star, which is now coming at the direction of the Solar System. Within 1.3 million years it will come as close to 10 light years from Earth, and will be much brighter than Sirius by that time.
Vela (constellation)
Vela is a constellation in the southern sky. Its name is Latin for the sails of a ship, and it was originally part of a larger constellation, the ship "Argo Navis", which was later divided into three parts, the others being Carina and Puppis. With an apparent magnitude of 1.8, its brightest star is the hot blue multiple star Gamma Velorum, one component of which is the brightest Wolf-Rayet star in the sky. Delta and Kappa Velorum, together with Epsilon and Iota Carinae, form the asterism known as the False Cross. 1.95-magnitude Delta is actually a triple or quintuple star system.
61 Ursae Majoris
61 Ursae Majoris (61 UMa) is an orange-yellow G8 main-sequence star in the constellation Ursa Major. It is somewhat smaller and fainter than the Sun, and can just barely be seen by the unaided eye (based on a magnitude limit of 6). Since 1943, the spectrum of this star has served as one of the stable anchor points by which other stars are classified.
Musca
Located on the border with Circinus is the unusual planetary nebula NGC 5189, estimated to be around 1750 light-years away from Earth. Its complex structure is due to multiple ejections of material from the ageing central star, which are distorted by the presence of a likely binary companion. Located 2.4° east of Eta Muscae is the magnitude-12.9 Engraved Hourglass Nebula (MyCn 18), which lies about 8000 light-years distant from Earth. To Eta's west lies IC 4191, a compact bluish planetary nebula of magnitude 10.6, thought to lie around 10,750 light-years away from Earth. West of Epsilon Muscae is NGC 4071, a large, diffuse planetary nebula of magnitude 12.7 with a magnitude 12 central star, thought to lie around 4000 light-years away from Earth. The Coalsack Nebula is a dark nebula located mainly in neighbouring Crux that intrudes into Musca. NGC 4463 is an open cluster located on its southwestern border. Around five light-years across, it is located around 3400 light-years away.
Gamma Draconis
Gamma Draconis (γ Draconis, abbreviated Gamma Dra, γ Dra), also named Eltanin, is a star in the northern constellation of Draco. Contrary to its gamma-designation (historically third-ranked), it is the brightest star in Draco at magnitude 2.4, outshining Rastaban (Beta Draconis) by nearly half a magnitude. In 1.5 million years, Eltanin will pass within 28 light years of Earth. For a period, if its current absolute magnitude does not change, it will be the brightest star in the night sky, nearly as bright as Sirius is at present.
S Monocerotis
S Monocerotis, also known as 15 Monocerotis, is a massive multiple and variable star system located in the constellation Monoceros. It is the brightest star in the Christmas Tree open cluster in the area catalogued as NGC 2264.
Piscis Austrinus
Piscis Austrinus is a constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere. The name is Latin for "the southern fish", in contrast with the larger constellation Pisces, which represents a pair of fishes. Prior to the 20th century, it was also known as Piscis Notius. Its only star brighter than 4th magnitude is Fomalhaut, which is a 1st-magnitude star and is the 18th-brightest star in the night sky.
HD 115211
HD 115211 is a star in the constellation Musca. Its apparent magnitude is 4.87.
GR Muscae
GR Muscae, also known as 2S 1254-690 is a binary star system in the constellation Musca composed of a neutron star of between 1.2 and 1.8 times the mass of the Sun and a low-mass star likely to be around the mass of the Sun in close orbit. A magnitude 19 blue star was pinpointed as the optical counterpart of the X-ray source in 1978. Its apparent magnitude varies from 18 to 19.1 over a period of 0.16 days.
Alpha Fornacis
Alpha Fornacis (α Fornacis, abbreviated Alpha For, α For), also designated 12 Eridani, is a binary star system in the southern constellation of Fornax. It is the brightest star in the constellation and the only one brighter than magnitude 4.0. Based on parallax measurements obtained during the Hipparcos mission, it is approximately 46 light-years (14 parsecs) distant from the Sun.
Crux
Crux is a constellation located in the southern sky in a bright portion of the Milky Way. It is among the most easily distinguished constellations, as all of its four main stars have an apparent visual magnitude brighter than +2.8, even though it is the smallest of all 88 modern constellations. Its name is Latin for cross, and it is dominated by a cross-shaped or kite-like asterism that is commonly known as the Southern Cross.
Predominating is the first-magnitude blue-white star of Alpha Crucis or Acrux, being the constellation's brightest and most southerly member. Crux is followed by four dominant stars, descending in clockwise order by magnitude: Beta, Gamma (one of the closest red giants to Earth), Delta and Epsilon Crucis. Many of these brighter stars are members of the Scorpius–Centaurus Association, a large but loose group of hot blue-white stars that appear to share common origins and motion across the southern Milky Way. The constellation contains four Cepheid variables that are each visible to the naked eye under optimum conditions. Crux also contains the bright and colourful open cluster known as the Jewel Box (NGC 4755) and, to the southwest, partly includes the extensive dark nebula, known as the Coalsack Nebula.
Messier 37
Messier 37 (also known as M37 or NGC 2099) is the richest open cluster in the constellation Auriga. It is the brightest of three open clusters in Auriga and was discovered by the Italian astronomer Giovanni Battista Hodierna before 1654. M37 was missed by French astronomer Guillaume Le Gentil when he rediscovered M36 and M38 in 1749. French astronomer Charles Messier independently rediscovered M37 in September 1764 but all three clusters were recorded by Hodierna. It is classified as Trumpler type I,1,r or I,2,r.
Alphard
Alphard, also designated Alpha Hydrae (α Hydrae, abbreviated Alpha Hya, α Hya) is the brightest star in the constellation of Hydra.
Phoenix (constellation)
Ankaa is the brightest star in the constellation. It is an orange giant of apparent visual magnitude 2.37 and spectral type K0.5IIIb, 77 light years distant from Earth and orbited by a secondary object about which little is known. Lying close by Ankaa is Kappa Phoenicis, a main sequence star of spectral type A5IVn and apparent magnitude 3.90. Located centrally in the asterism, Beta Phoenicis is the second brightest star in the constellation and another binary star. Together the stars, both yellow giants of spectral type G8, shine with an apparent magnitude of 3.31, though the components are of individual apparent magnitudes of 4.0 and 4.1 and orbit each other every 168 years. Zeta Phoenicis or "Wurren" is an Algol-type eclipsing binary, with an apparent magnitude fluctuating between 3.9 and 4.4 with a period of around 1.7 days (40 hours); its dimming results from the component two blue-white B-type stars, which orbit and block out each other from Earth. The two stars are 0.05 AU from each other, while a third star is around 600 AU away from the pair, and has an orbital period exceeding 5000 years. The system is around 300 light years distant. In 1976, researchers Clausen, Gyldenkerne, and Grønbech calculated that a nearby 8th magnitude star is a fourth member of the system.
Human interactions with insects
In astronomy, constellations named after arthropods include the zodiacal Scorpius, the scorpion, and Musca, the fly, also known as Apis, the bee, in the deep southern sky. Musca, the only recognised insect constellation, was named by Petrus Plancius in 1597.
Eta Piscium
Eta Piscium (η Piscium, abbreviated Eta Psc, η Psc) is a binary star and the brightest point of light in the constellation of Pisces with an apparent visual magnitude of +3.6. Based upon a measured annual parallax shift of 9.33 mas as seen from Earth, it is located roughly 350 light-years distant from the Sun in the thin disk population of the Milky Way.
16 Lyncis
16 Lyncis (16 Lyn) is the 4th magnitude and brightest star in the constellation Lynx. Located approximately distant. It was also known as Psi10 Aurigae (ψ Aur).
Alpha Lupi
Alpha Lupi (α Lupi, α Lup) is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Lupus. According to the Bortle Dark-Sky Scale, its apparent visual magnitude of 2.3 makes it readily visible to the naked eye even from highly light-polluted locales. Based upon parallax measurements made during the Hipparcos mission, the star is located at a distance of around from Earth. It is one of the nearest supernova explosion candidates.
Alpha Vulpeculae
Alpha Vulpeculae (α Vulpeculae, abbreviated Alf Vul, α Vul), also named Anser, is the brightest star in the constellation of Vulpecula. It is approximately 297 light-years from Earth. It forms a wide optical binary with 8 Vulpeculae.
Quasar
Although quasars appear faint when viewed from Earth, they are visible from extreme distances, being the most luminous objects in the known universe. The brightest quasar in the sky is 3C 273 in the constellation of Virgo. It has an average apparent magnitude of 12.8 (bright enough to be seen through a medium-size amateur telescope), but it has an absolute magnitude of −26.7. From a distance of about 33 light-years, this object would shine in the sky about as brightly as our sun. This quasar's luminosity is, therefore, about 4 trillion (4 × 10) times that of the Sun, or about 100 times that of the total light of giant galaxies like the Milky Way. This assumes the quasar is radiating energy in all directions, but the active galactic nucleus is believed to be radiating preferentially in the direction of its jet. In a universe containing hundreds of billions of galaxies, most of which had active nuclei billions of years ago but only seen today, it is statistically certain that thousands of energy jets should be pointed toward the Earth, some more directly than others. In many cases it is likely that the brighter the quasar, the more directly its jet is aimed at the Earth. Such quasars are called blazars.
Musca
Also known as Nova Muscae 1983, GQ Muscae is a binary system consisting of a white dwarf and small star that is about 10% as massive as the Sun. The two orbit each other every 1.4 hours. The white dwarf accumulates material from its companion star via its accretion disc. After a certain amount has accumulated, the star erupts, as it did in 1983, reaching a magnitude of 7.2. Discovered with a magnitude of 7.1 on 18 January 1983, it was the first nova from which X-rays were detected. The soft X-ray transient GRS 1124-683 (also known as Nova Muscae 1991) is a binary object consisting of an orange main-sequence star (GU Muscae) of spectral type K3V–K4V and a black hole of around six solar masses. During the 1991 outburst which led to its discovery, radiation was produced through a process of positron annihilation. GR Muscae is an X-ray source composed of a neutron star of between 1.2 and 1.8 times the mass of our Sun and a low-mass star likely to be around the mass of the Sun in close orbit. Finally, SY Muscae is a symbiotic star system composed of a red giant and white dwarf, where although the larger star is transferring mass to the smaller, no periodic eruption occurs nor does an accretion disc form. The star system varies in magnitude from 10.2 to 12.7 over a period of 624.5 days.
Vulpecula
There are no stars brighter than 4th magnitude in this constellation. The brightest star in Vulpecula is Alpha Vulpeculae, a magnitude 4.44 red giant at a distance of 297 light-years. The star is an optical binary (separation of 413.7") that can be split using binoculars. The star also carries the traditional name Anser, which refers to the goose the little fox holds in its jaws.
Musca
Many of the constellation's brighter stars are members of the Scorpius–Centaurus Association, a loose group of hot blue-white stars that appears to share a common origin and motion across the Milky Way. These include Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Zeta and (probably) Eta Muscae, as well as HD 100546, a blue-white Herbig Ae/Be star that is surrounded by a complex debris disk containing a large planet or brown dwarf and possible protoplanet. Two further star systems have been found to have planets. The constellation also contains two cepheid variables visible to the naked eye. Theta Muscae is a triple star system, the brightest member of which is a Wolf–Rayet star.
Musca
Three star systems have been discovered to have exoplanets. HD 111232 is a yellow main-sequence star around 78% as massive as the Sun around 95 light-years distant. It has a planet (HD 111232 b) around 6.8 times the mass of Jupiter that has an orbital period around 1143 days. HD 112410 is a yellow giant of spectral type G8III located around 439 light-years distant. With around 1.54 times the mass of our Sun, it is cooling and expanding along the red-giant branch, having left the main sequence after exhausting its core supply of hydrogen fuel. It has a substellar companion calculated to have a mass 9.2 times that of Jupiter and an orbital period of 124.6 days at a distance around 0.57 AU. Yet another member of the Lower Centaurus Crux subgroup, HD 100546 is a young, blue-white Herbig Ae/Be star of spectral type B9V that has yet to settle on the main sequence—the closest of these stars to Earth around 320 light-years distant. It is surrounded by a circumstellar debris disk from a distance of 0.2 to 4 AU, and again from 13 AU out to a few hundred AU, with evidence for a protoplanet forming at a distance around 47 AU. A gap exists between 4 and 13 AU, which appears to contain a large planet around 20 times the mass of Jupiter, although further examination of the disk profile indicates it might be a more massive object such as a brown dwarf or more than one planet. LP 145-141 is a white dwarf located 15 light-years distant—the fourth-closest to the Solar System. It is considered a good candidate to look for Jupiter-like planets, on account if its proximity and mass.
Polaris
Polaris, designated α Ursae Minoris (Latinized to Alpha Ursae Minoris, abbreviated Alpha UMi, α UMi), commonly the North Star or Pole Star, is the brightest star in the constellation of Ursa Minor. It is very close to the north celestial pole, making it the current northern pole star. The revised Hipparcos parallax gives a distance to Polaris of about 433 light-years (133 parsecs), while calculations by other methods derive distances around 30% closer.
Epsilon Muscae
Epsilon Muscae, Latinized as ε Muscae, is a red giant star of spectral type M5III in the constellation Musca. Originally a main-sequence star of around 1.5 to 2 solar masses, it has now expanded to 130 times the Sun's diameter and 1800 to 2300 its luminosity. It is a semiregular variable, varying in eight distinct periods ranging from a month to over half a year in length, with the largest amplitude being of almost half a magnitude from the mean of 4.06. It is located around 300 light-years distant, the same distance as the Lower Centaurus Crux subgroup of the Scorpius–Centaurus Association, although it is moving much faster at around 100 km/s and does not share a common origin.
Theta Muscae
Theta Muscae is a remote triple star system, the primary component of which is a carbon-sequence Wolf–Rayet star. This is a variety of highly-luminous hot blue star that has blown off its hydrogen envelope and is emitting heavier elements, in this case carbon, amid a strong stellar wind. Theta Muscae is the second-brightest such star in the sky after Gamma Velorum in Vela. θ Mus is beyond the current reach of useful visual parallax measurements, but has been estimated as around 7,400 light-years (460 million astronomical units) from Earth. While cataloging the stars in the far-southern sky, French explorer and astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille gave the star its Bayer designation in 1756.
Mu Piscium
Mu Piscium (μ Piscium) is a solitary, orange-hued star in the zodiac constellation of Pisces. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.84. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 10.73 mas as seen from Earth, it is located about 304 light years from the Sun. Given this distance, it has a relatively high proper motion, advancing 296 mas per year across the sky.
Vela (constellation)
The brightest star in the constellation, Gamma Velorum, is a complex multiple star system. The brighter component, known as Gamma Velorum or Suhail, shines as a blue-white star of apparent magnitude 1.83. It is a spectroscopic binary made up of two very hot blue stars orbiting each other every 78.5 days and separated by somewhere between 0.8 and 1.6 Astronomical Units (AU). The brighter component is a hot blue main-sequence star of spectral type O7.5 and is around 280,000 times as luminous, is around 30 times as massive and is 17 times the diameter of our Sun with a surface temperature of 35,000 K. The second component is an extremely rare example of hot star known as a Wolf–Rayet star, and is the brightest example in the sky. It has a surface temperature of 57,000 and is around 170,000 times as luminous as our sun, though it radiates most of its energy in the ultraviolet spectrum. Gamma is a blue-white star of spectral type B2III and apparent magnitude 4.3. The two pairs are separated by 41 arcseconds, easily separable in binoculars. Parallax measurements give a distance of 1,116 light-years, meaning that they are at least 12,000 AU apart. Further afield are 7.3-magnitude Gamma Velorum C and 9.4-magnitude Gamma Velorum D, lying 62 and 93 arcseconds south-southeast from Gamma.
Capella
With an average apparent magnitude of +0.08, Capella is the brightest object in the constellation Auriga, the sixth-brightest in the night sky, the third-brightest in the northern celestial hemisphere (after Arcturus and Vega), and the fourth-brightest visible to the naked eye from the latitude 40° N. It appears to be a rich yellowish-white colour, although the yellow colour is more apparent during daylight observation with a telescope, due to the contrast against the blue sky.
HD 112410
HD 112410 is a star in the constellation Musca. Its apparent magnitude is 6.87. It is a yellow giant of spectral type G8III located around 439 light-years distant. With around 1.54 times the mass of our Sun, it is cooling and expanding along the Red Giant Branch, having left the main sequence after exhausting its core supply of hydrogen fuel.
Pyxis
The plane of the Milky Way passes through Pyxis. A faint constellation, its three brightest stars—Alpha, Beta and Gamma Pyxidis—are in a rough line. At magnitude 3.68, Alpha is the constellation's brightest star. It is a blue-white star approximately distant and around 22,000 times as luminous as the Sun.
Pyxis is located close to the stars that formed the old constellation Argo Navis, the ship of Jason and the Argonauts. Parts of Argo Navis were the Carina (the keel or hull), the Puppis (the poop deck or stern), and the Vela (the sails). These eventually became their own constellations. In the 19th century, John Herschel suggested renaming Pyxis to Malus (meaning the mast) but the suggestion was not followed.
Delta Muscae
Delta Muscae is a star of the third magnitude (or 3.61(v) to be exact) when viewed from the Earth, and is visible to the naked eye in regions that lack dense light pollution.
Spica (disambiguation)
Spica is the brightest star in the constellation Virgo.
NGC 2301
NGC 2301 is an open cluster in the constellation Monoceros. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1786. It is visible through 7x50 binoculars and it is considered the best open cluster for small telescopes in the constellation. It is located 5° WNW of delta Monocerotis and 2° SSE of 18 Monocerotis. The brightest star of the cluster is an orange G8 subgiant star of 8.0 magnitude, but it is possible that it is a foreground star. The cluster contains also blue giants. The brightest main sequence star is a B9 star with magnitude 9.1.
Fomalhaut
Fomalhaut, also designated Alpha Piscis Austrini (α Piscis Austrini, abbreviated Alpha PsA, α PsA) is the brightest star in the constellation of Piscis Austrinus and one of the brightest stars in the sky. It is a class A star on the main sequence approximately from the Sun as measured by the Hipparcos astrometry satellite. Since 1943, the spectrum of this star has served as one of the stable anchor points by which other stars are classified. It is classified as a Vega-like star that emits excess infrared radiation, indicating it is surrounded by a circumstellar disk. Fomalhaut, K-type main-sequence star TW Piscis Austrini, and M-type, red dwarf star LP 876-10 constitute a triple system, even though the companions are separated by several degrees.
Alpha Persei
Alpha Persei (Latinized from α Persei, abbreviated Alpha Per, α Per), officially named Mirfak, is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Perseus, outshining the constellation's best known star, Algol. Alpha Persei has an apparent visual magnitude of 1.8, and is a circumpolar star when viewed from mid-northern latitudes.
Crux
15 of the 23 brightest stars are blue-white B-type stars. Of the five main cross stars, Delta Crucis and probably Acrux and Mimosa are co-moving B-type members of the Scorpius–Centaurus Association, the nearest OB association to the Sun. They are among the highest-mass stellar members of the Lower Centaurus-Crux subgroup of the association, with ages of roughly 10 to 20 million years. Other members include the blue-white stars Zeta, Lambda, Mu and Mu.
Musca
Musca () is a small constellation in the deep southern sky. It was one of 12 constellations created by Petrus Plancius from the observations of Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman, and it first appeared on a celestial globe in diameter published in 1597 (or 1598) in Amsterdam by Plancius and Jodocus Hondius. The first depiction of this constellation in a celestial atlas was in Johann Bayer's "Uranometria" of 1603. It was also known as Apis () for 200 years. Musca remains below the horizon for most Northern Hemisphere observers.
Pegasus (constellation)
Epsilon Pegasi, also known as Enif, marks the horse's muzzle. The brightest star in Pegasus, is an orange supergiant of spectral type K21b that is around 12 times as massive as the Sun and is around 690 light-years distant from Earth. It is an irregular variable, its apparent magnitude varying between 2.37 and 2.45. Lying near Enif is AG Pegasi, an unusual star that brightened to magnitude 6.0 around 1885 before dimming to magnitude 9. It is composed of a red giant and white dwarf, estimated to be around 2.5 and 0.6 times the mass of the Sun respectively. With its outburst taking over 150 years, it has been described as the slowest nova ever recorded.
Cygnus (constellation)
There are several bright stars in Cygnus. Alpha Cygni, called Deneb, is the brightest star in Cygnus. It is a white supergiant star of spectral type A2Iae that varies between magnitudes 1.21 and 1.29, one of the largest and most luminous A-class stars known. It is located about 3200 light-years away. Its traditional name means "tail" and refers to its position in the constellation. Albireo, designated Beta Cygni, is a celebrated binary star among amateur astronomers for its contrasting hues. The primary is an orange-hued giant star of magnitude 3.1 and the secondary is a blue-green hued star of magnitude 5.1. The system is 380 light-years away and is divisible in large binoculars and all amateur telescopes. Gamma Cygni, traditionally named Sadr, is a yellow-tinged supergiant star of magnitude 2.2, 1500 light-years away. Its traditional name means "breast" and refers to its position in the constellation. Delta Cygni (the proper name is Fawaris) is another bright binary star in Cygnus, 171 light-years with a period of 800 years. The primary is a blue-white hued giant star of magnitude 2.9, and the secondary is a star of magnitude 6.6. The two components are divisible in a medium-sized amateur telescope. The fifth star in Cygnus above magnitude 3 is Aljanah, designated Epsilon Cygni. It is an orange-hued giant star of magnitude 2.5, 72 light-years from Earth.
Delta Piscium
Delta Piscium (δ Piscium) is a solitary, orange-hued star in the zodiac constellation of Pisces. It has an apparent visual magnitude of +4.4, so it is bright enough to be faintly visible to the naked eye. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 10.5 mas, it is around from the Sun. The visual magnitude of the star is diminished by an interstellar absorption factor of 0.08 due to interstellar dust.
Kappa Piscium
Kappa Piscium (κ Piscium) is a solitary, white-hued star in the zodiac constellation of Pisces. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.94, forming the southeastern corner of the "Circlet" asterism in Pisces. Based upon a measured annual parallax shift of 21.25 mas as seen from Earth, it is located about 153 light years distant from the Sun. Appearing as a single point in the sky, it is easily split when viewed with a pair of binoculars, and displays three components. Kappa Piscium has an apparent magnitude of 4.87 at maximum brightness and 4.95 at minimum brightness, while the visual companions have apparent magnitudes of 9.96 and 11.20.
Perseus (constellation)
The galactic plane of the Milky Way passes through Perseus, whose brightest star is the yellow-white supergiant Alpha Persei (also called Mirfak), which shines at magnitude 1.79. It and many of the surrounding stars are members of an open cluster known as the Alpha Persei Cluster. The best-known star, however, is Algol (Beta Persei), linked with ominous legends because of its variability, which is noticeable to the naked eye. Rather than being an intrinsically variable star, it is an eclipsing binary. Other notable star systems in Perseus include X Persei, a binary system containing a neutron star, and GK Persei, a nova that peaked at magnitude 0.2 in 1901. The Double Cluster, comprising two open clusters quite near each other in the sky, was known to the ancient Chinese. The constellation gives its name to the Perseus cluster (Abell 426), a massive galaxy cluster located 250 million light-years from Earth. It hosts the radiant of the annual Perseids meteor shower—one of the most prominent meteor showers in the sky.
Mensa (constellation)
Lacaille gave eleven stars in the constellation Bayer designations, using the Greek alphabet to label them Alpha through to Lambda Mensae (excluding Kappa). Gould later added Kappa, Mu, Nu, Xi and Pi Mensae. Stars as dim as these were not generally given designations; however, Gould felt their closeness to the South Celestial Pole warranted their naming. Alpha Mensae is the brightest star with a barely visible apparent magnitude of 5.09, making it the only constellation with no star above magnitude 5.0. Overall, there are 22 stars within the constellation's borders brighter than or equal to apparent magnitude 6.5.
Mu Muscae
Mu Muscae, Latinized from μ Muscae, is a solitary star in the southern constellation of Musca. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of around 4.75. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 8.97 mas as seen from Earth, it is located about 360 light years from the Sun.
Alpha Pictoris
Alpha Pictoris (α Pic, α Pictoris) is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Pictor. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 3.27, which is bright enough to be viewed from urban areas in the southern hemisphere. This star is close enough for its distance to be measured using parallax shifts, which yields a value of roughly from the Sun, with a 5% margin of error. Alpha Pictoris has the distinction of being the south pole star of the planet Mercury.
R Muscae
This is an F-type supergiant star with a baseline stellar classification of F7 Ib. It is a Classical Cepheid variable ranging from apparent magnitude 5.93 to 6.73 over 7.51 days, while varying between spectral types F7 Ib and G2. The star was suspected of having a detectable companion, but this finding was later disputed. There is an X-ray source with a luminosity of located at an angular separation of from R Muscae.
Auriga (constellation)
Its brightest star, Capella, is an unusual multiple star system among the brightest stars in the night sky. Beta Aurigae is an interesting variable star in the constellation; Epsilon Aurigae, a nearby eclipsing binary with an unusually long period, has been studied intensively. Because of its position near the winter Milky Way, Auriga has many bright open clusters in its borders, including M36, M37, and M38, popular targets for amateur astronomers. In addition, it has one prominent nebula, the Flaming Star Nebula, associated with the variable star AE Aurigae.
Theta Carinae
θ Carinae, Latinized as Theta Carinae, is a spectroscopic binary star in the southern constellation of Carina. With an apparent visual magnitude of 2.76, it is the brightest star in the open star cluster IC 2602. It marks the northeastern end of the Diamond Cross asterism. Parallax measurements from the Hipparcos mission place this star at a distance of about from Earth.
Delta Muscae
Delta Muscae has a listed spectral type of K2III. The K2 portion of this designation specifies that Delta Muscae A is a class K2 star, meaning the light it emits is orange in color. The main star burns at a temperature cooler than the Sun, which is a G2 star. The second part of the classification, III, specifies that Delta Muscae is a giant star which has already left the main sequence of star life like the Sun.
Draco (constellation)
There are three stars under magnitude 3 in Draco. The brighter of the three, and the brightest star in Draco, is Gamma Draconis, traditionally called Etamin or Eltanin. It is an orange giant star of magnitude 2.2, 148 light-years from Earth. The aberration of starlight was discovered in 1728 when James Bradley observed Gamma Draconis. Nearby Beta Draconis, traditionally called Rastaban, is a yellow giant star of magnitude 2.8, 362 light-years from Earth. Its name shares a meaning with Thuban, "head of the serpent".
Alpha Muscae
This star is a proper motion member of the Lower-Centaurus Crux sub-group in the Scorpius-Centaurus OB association, the nearest such association of co-moving massive stars to the Sun. Alpha Muscae has a peculiar velocity of 10 km s, which, while high, is not enough for it to be considered a runaway star.
Musca (disambiguation)
Musca is a small constellation in the deep southern sky.
Lupus (constellation)
Overall, there are 127 stars within the constellation's borders brighter than or equal to apparent magnitude 6.5. In his book "Star Names and Their Meanings", R.H. Allen gave the names Yang Mun for Alpha Lupi, the brightest star in Lupus, and KeKwan for the blue giant Beta Lupi, both from Chinese. However, the first name is in error; both stars were part of a large Chinese constellation known in modern transliteration as Qíguān, the Imperial Guards.
TU Muscae
TU Muscae is a remote binary star system made up of two hot luminous blue main sequence stars of spectral types O7.5V and O9.5V, with masses 23 and 15 times that of the Sun. The stars are so close that they are in contact with each other (overcontact binary) and are classed as a Beta Lyrae variable as their light varies from earth as they eclipse each other. The spectra indicate they are hot stars, with surface temperatures of roughly 37200 and 34700 K respectively. They are both still on the main sequence of star evolution, burning their core hydrogen. Astronomers Laura Penny and Cynthia Ouszt proposed the two were originally more equal in size but as they became close enough so that material from the less massive star began transferring to the more massive star via Roche-lobe overflow. However they concede that figuring out the evolution of interacting massive binary systems is "a little like trying to unspill milk". The system is thought to be around 4.8 kiloparsecs (~15500 light-years) distant.
S Muscae
S Muscae is a classical (δ) Cepheid variable star in the constellation Musca about 2,600 light years away.
Coma Berenices
The constellation's brightest star is Beta Comae Berenices (43 Comae Berenices in Flamsteed designation, occasionally known as Al-Dafira), at magnitude 4.2 and with a high proper motion. In Coma Berenices' northeastern region, it is 29.95 ± 0.10 light-years from Earth. A solar analog, it is a yellow-hued F-type main-sequence star with a spectral class of F9.5V B. Beta Comae Berenices is around 36% brighter, and 15% more massive than the Sun, and with a radius 10% larger.
Gamma Muscae
Gamma Muscae is a proper motion member of the Lower-Centaurus Crux sub-group in the Scorpius-Centaurus OB association, the nearest such association of co-moving massive stars to the Sun.
GQ Muscae
GQ Muscae, also known as Nova Muscae 1983 is a binary star system in the constellation Musca composed of a white dwarf and small star that is about 10% as massive as the Sun. The two orbit each other every 1.4 hours. The white dwarf accumulates material from its companion star on its accretion disc until it erupts, as it did in 1983, reaching a magnitude of 7.2. Discovered with a magnitude of 7.1 on 18 January 1983, it was the first nova from which X-rays were detected.
Vela (constellation)
Omicron Velorum is a blue-white subgiant of spectral type B3III-IV located around 495 light-years from the Solar System. A slowly pulsating B star, it ranges between magnitudes 3.57 and 3.63 over 2.8 days. It is the brightest star in, and gives its name to, the Omicron Velorum Cluster, also known as IC 2391, an open cluster located around 500 light-years away.
Alpha Muscae
Alpha Muscae appears to be a Beta Cephei variable star. Telting and colleagues report it as a Beta Cephei with a high degree of confidence as they found regular pulsations in its spectrum in a high-resolution spectroscopy study published in 2006, although Stankov and Handler (2005) listed it as a poor or rejected candidate in their "Catalog of Galactic β Cephei Stars". It is rotating rapidly with a projected rotational velocity of and has an estimated age of about 18 million years.
Vela (constellation)
The next brightest star is Delta Velorum or Alsephina, also a multiple star system and one of the brightest eclipsing binaries in the sky. Together with Kappa Velorum or Markeb, Iota Carinae or Aspidiske and Epsilon Carinae or Avior, it forms the diamond-shaped asterism known as the False Cross—so called because it is sometimes mistaken for the Southern Cross, causing errors in astronavigation. Appearing as a white star of magnitude 1.95, Delta is actually a triple or possibly quintuple star system located around 80 light-years from the Solar System. Delta A has a magnitude of 1.99 and is an eclipsing binary composed of two A-type white stars (Delta Aa and Ab) which orbit each other every 45.2 days and lie 0.5 AU from each other, with a resulting drop in magnitude of 0.4 when the dimmer one passes.in front of the brighter. Delta B is a 5.1 magnitude yellow G-class star of similar dimensions to our sun which ranges between 26 and 72 AU away from the brighter pair, taking 142 years to complete a revolution. Further out still, at a distance of 1700 AU, are two red dwarfs of magnitudes 11 and 13. If they are part of the multiple system, they take 28000 years to complete an orbit. Also called Markeb, Kappa appears as a blue-white star of spectral type B2IV-V and magnitude 2.47 but is in fact a spectroscopic binary. The two orbit around each other with a period of 116.65 days, but the size, mass and nature of the companion are as yet unclear.
Canis Major
Canis Major is a prominent constellation because of its many bright stars. These include Sirius (Alpha Canis Majoris), the brightest star in the night sky, as well as three other stars above magnitude 2.0. Furthermore, two other stars are thought to have previously outshone all others in the night sky—Adhara (Epsilon Canis Majoris) shone at -3.99 around 4.7 million years ago, and Mirzam (Beta Canis Majoris) peaked at −3.65 around 4.42 million years ago. Another, NR Canis Majoris, will be brightest at magnitude −0.88 in about 2.87 million years' time.
Altair
Altair () (from Arabic ""al-ṭā'ir""), also designated α Aquilae (Latinised to Alpha Aquilae, abbreviated Alpha Aql, α Aql), is the brightest star in the constellation of Aquila and the twelfth brightest star in the night sky. It is currently in the G-cloud—a nearby interstellar cloud, which is an accumulation of gas and dust. Altair is an A-type main sequence star with an apparent visual magnitude of 0.77 and is one of the vertices of the Summer Triangle asterism (the other two vertices are marked by Deneb and Vega). It is 16.7 light-years (5.13 parsecs) from the Sun and is one of the closest stars visible to the naked eye.
Castor (star)
Castor, also designated α Geminorum (Latinised to Alpha Geminorum, abbreviated Alpha Gem, α Gem) is the second-brightest object in the constellation of Gemini and one of the brightest stars in the night sky. It appears singular to the naked eye, but it is actually a sextuple star system organized into three binary pairs made up of the stars Castor Aa, Castor Ab, Castor Ba, Castor Bb, Castor Ca, and Castor Cb. Although it has the Bayer designation α (alpha), it is fainter than β (beta) Geminorum, Pollux.
Lyra
The brightest and by far the most well-known star in the constellation is Vega, a main-sequence star of spectral type A0Va. Only 7.7 parsecs distant, is a Delta Scuti variable, varying between magnitudes −0.02 and 0.07 over 0.2 days. On average, it is the second-brightest star of the northern hemisphere (after Arcturus) and the fifth-brightest star in all, surpassed only by Arcturus, Alpha Centauri, Canopus, and Sirius. Vega was the pole star in the year 12,000 BCE, and will again become the pole star around 14,000 CE.
Alpha Leporis
Alpha Leporis (α Leporis, abbreviated Alpha Lep, α Lep), also named Arneb, is the brightest star in the constellation of Lepus.
Alpha Crucis
Alpha Crucis (Latinised from α Crucis, abbreviated Alpha Cru, α Cru) is a multiple star system 321 light-years from the Sun in the constellation of Crux and part of the asterism known as the Southern Cross. With a combined visual magnitude of 0.76, it is the brightest object in Crux and on average the 13th brightest star in the night sky. It is the southernmost first-magnitude star, 2.3 degrees more southerly than Alpha Centauri.
Lambda Muscae
Lambda Muscae is a star of the third magnitude (or 3.68(v) to be exact) when viewed from the Earth, and is visible to the naked eye in regions that lack dense light pollution.
Iota1 Muscae
ι Muscae, Latinised as Iota Muscae, is a solitary star in the constellation Musca. Its apparent magnitude is 5.04. Located around distant, it is an orange giant of spectral type K0III, a star that has used up its core hydrogen and is cooling and expanding. The measured angular diameter is . At the estimated distance of the star, this yields a physical size of about 11 times the radius of the Sun.
Alpha Muscae
With a stellar classification of B2 IV-V, this star appears to be in the process of evolving away from the main sequence of stars like the Sun and turning a subgiant star, as the supply of hydrogen at its core becomes exhausted. It is larger than the Sun, with nearly nine times the mass and almost five times the radius. This star is radiating around 4,000 times as much luminosity as the Sun from its outer atmosphere at an effective temperature of 21,400 K, giving it the blue-white hue of a B-type star.
Perseus (constellation)
With the historical name Mirfak (Arabic for "elbow") or Algenib, Alpha Persei is the brightest star of this constellation with an apparent magnitude of 1.79. A supergiant of spectral type F5Ib located around 590 light-years away from Earth, Mirfak has 5,000 times the luminosity and 42 times the diameter of our Sun. It is the brightest member of the Alpha Persei Cluster (also known as "Melotte 20" and "Collinder 39"), which is an open cluster containing many luminous stars. Neighboring bright stars that are members include the Be stars Delta (magnitude 3.0), Psi (4.3), and 48 Persei (4.0); the Beta Cephei variable Epsilon Persei (2.9); and the stars 29 (5.2), 30 (5.5), 31 (5.0), and 34 Persei (4.7). Of magnitude 4.05, nearby Iota Persei has been considered a member of the group, but is actually located a mere 34 light-years distant. This star is very similar to our Sun, shining with 2.2 times its luminosity. It is a yellow main sequence star of spectral type G0V. Extensive searches have failed to find evidence of it having a planetary system.