Columba (constellation)

Columba
Constellation
	List of stars in Columba
Abbreviation	Col
Genitive	Columbae
Pronunciation	/kəˈlʌmbə/,; genitive/kəˈlʌmbiː/
Symbolism	thedove
Right ascension	05h03m53.8665s–06h39m36.9263s
Declination	−27.0772038°–−43.1116486°
Area	270 sq. deg. (54th)
Main stars	5
Bayer/Flamsteed; stars	18
Stars withplanets	1
Stars brighter than 3.00m	1
Stars within 10.00 pc (32.62 ly)	0
Brightest star	α Col(Phact) (2.65m)
Messier objects	0
Meteor showers	0
Bordering; constellations	Lepus; Caelum; Pictor; Puppis; Canis Major
	Visible at latitudes between +45° and −90°.; Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month ofFebruary.

Columbais a faintconstellationdesignated in the late sixteenth century, remaining in official use, with its rigid limits set in the 20th century. Its name isLatinfordove.It takes up 1.31% of the southern celestial hemisphere and is just south ofCanis MajorandLepus.

History

Early 3rd century BC:Aratus's astronomical poemPhainomena(lines 367–370 and 384–385) mentions faint stars where Columba is now but does not fit any name or figure to them.
2nd century AD:Ptolemylisted 48 constellations in theAlmagestbut did not mention Columba.
c. 150–215 AD:Clement of Alexandriawrote in hisLogos Paidogogos^[2]"Αἱ δὲ σφραγῖδες ἡμῖν ἔστων πελειὰς ἢ ἰχθὺς ἢ ναῦς οὐριοδρομοῦσα ἢ λύρα μουσική, ᾗ κέχρηται Πολυκράτης, ἢ ἄγκυρα ναυτική," (= "[when recommending symbols for Christians to use], let oursealsbe a dove or a fish or a ship running in a good wind or a musical lyre... or a ship's anchor... "), with no mention of stars or astronomy.
1592 AD:^[3]Petrus Planciusfirst depicted Columba on the small celestial planispheres of his large wall map to differentiate the 'unformed stars' of the large constellationCanis Major.^[4]Columba is also shown on his smaller world map of 1594 and on early Dutch celestial globes. Plancius named the constellationColumba Noachi( "Noah's Dove "), referring to the dove that gave Noah the information that theGreat Floodwas receding. This name is found on early 17th-century celestial globes and star atlases.

1592:Frederick de Houtmanlisted Columba as "De Duyve med den Olijftack" (= "the dove with the olive branch" )
1603:Bayer's Uranometriawas published. It includes Columba as Columba Noachi.^[5]
1624:Bartschiuslisted Columba in hisUsus Astronomicusas "Columba Nohae".
1662:CaesiuspublishedCoelum Astronomico-Poeticum,including an inaccurate Latin translation of the above text of Clement of Alexandria: it mistranslated "ναῦς οὐριοδρομοῦσα" as Latin "Navis coelestis cursu in coelum tendens" ( "Ship of the sky following a course in the sky" ), perhaps misunderstanding "οὐριο-" as "up in the air or sky" by analogy with οὐρανός = "sky".
1679:Halleymentioned Columba in his workCatalogus Stellarum Australiumfrom his observations onSt. Helena.
1679:Augustin Royerpublished a star atlas that showed Columba as a constellation.
c.1690:Hevelius'sProdromus Astronomiaeshowed Columba but did not list it as a constellation.
1712 (pirated) and 1725 (authorized):Flamsteed's workHistoria Coelestis Britannicashowed Columba but did not list it as a constellation.
1757 or 1763:Lacaille listedColumba as a constellation and catalogued its stars.
1889: Richard H. Allen,^[6]misled by Caesius's mistranslation, wrote that the Columba asterism may have been invented in Roman/Greek times, but with a footnote saying that it may have been another star group.
2001: Ridpath and Tirion wrote that Columba may also represent the dove released byJason and the Argonautsat theBlack Sea's mouth; it helped them navigate the dangerousSymplegades.^[3]
2007: The author P.K. Chen wrote (his opinion) that, given the mythological linkageof a dovewith Jason and the Argonauts, and the celestial location of Columba overPuppis(part of the old constellationArgo Navis,the ship of the Argonauts), Columba may have an ancient history although Ptolemy omits it.^[7]^[8]
2019–20:OSIRIS-RExstudents discovered ablack holein the constellation Columba, based on observing X-ray bursts.^[9]

In theSociety Islands,Alpha Columbae (Phact) was calledAna-iva.^[10]

Features

Stars

Columba is rather inconspicuous, the brightest star,Alpha Columbae,being only ofmagnitude2.7. This, a blue-white star, has a pre-Bayer,traditional, Arabic namePhact(meaning ring dove) and is 268 light-years from Earth. The only other named star isBeta Columbae,which has the alike-status nameWazn.It is an orange-hued giant star of magnitude 3.1, 87 light-years away.^[11]

The constellation contains therunaway star μ Columbae,which was probably expelled from theι Orionissystem.

Exoplanet NGTS-1band its star NGTS-1 are in Columba.

General radial velocity

Columba contains the solarantapex– the opposite to the net direction of the solar system^[12](noting the local spiral arm of the Milky Way itself is responsible for most of our change of position over time).^{[citation needed]}

Deep-sky objects

NGC 1851aglobular clusterin Columba appears at 7th magnitude in a far part of our galaxy as is 39,000 light-years away - it is resolvable south of at greatest latitude +40°N in medium-sized amateur telescopes (under good conditions).^[11]

NGC 1792is aspiral galaxyof magnitude 10.2.
NGC 1808is aSeyfert galaxyof magnitude 10.8.

Citations

^^a ^b"Columba, constellation boundary".The Constellations.International Astronomical Union.Retrieved27 February2014.
^B. Schildgen (2016).Heritage or Heresy: Preservation and Destruction of Religious Art and Architecture in Europe.Springer. p. 63.ISBN 978-0-230-61315-7.
^^a ^bRidpath & Tirion 2001,pp. 120–121.
^Ley, Willy (December 1963)."The Names of the Constellations".For Your Information.Galaxy Science Fiction.pp. 90–99.
^Canis Maior and Columba in Bayers Uranometria 1603 (Linda Hall Library)Archived2007-04-27 at theWayback Machine
^Richard H. Allen (1899) Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning, pp. 166–168
^P.K. Chen (2007) A Constellation Album: Stars and Mythology of the Night Sky, p. 126 (ISBN 978-1-931559-38-6).
^Chen, p. 126.
^"NASA's OSIRIS-REx Students Catch Unexpected Glimpse of Newly Discovered Black Hole".NASA.28 February 2020.
^Makemson 1941,p. 281.
^^a ^bRidpath & Tirion 2017,p. 122.
^Madore, Barry F. (14 August 2002)."Astronomical Glossary".NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database.Retrieved31 January2023.

References

Makemson, Maud Worcester (1941).The Morning Star Rises: an account of Polynesian astronomy.Yale University Press.p. 281.Bibcode:1941msra.book.....M.
Ridpath, Ian; Tirion, Wil (2001),Stars and Planets Guide,Princeton University Press,ISBN 0-691-08913-2
Ridpath, Ian; Tirion, Wil (2017).Stars and planets guide(Fifth ed.). London: Collins.ISBN 978-0-00-823927-5.Princeton University Press, Princeton.ISBN 978-0-69-117788-5.

External links

The Deep Photographic Guide to the Constellations: Columba
The clickable Columba
Star Tales – Columba
Lost Stars, by Morton Wagman, publ. Mcdonald & Woodward Publishing Company, First printing September 2003,ISBN 0-939923-78-5,page 110

[boundary-1] "Columba, constellation boundary".The Constellations.International Astronomical Union.Retrieved27 February2014.

[2] B. Schildgen (2016).Heritage or Heresy: Preservation and Destruction of Religious Art and Architecture in Europe.Springer. p. 63.ISBN 978-0-230-61315-7.

[FOOTNOTERidpathTirion2001120–121-3] Ridpath & Tirion 2001,pp. 120–121.

[ley196312-4] Ley, Willy (December 1963)."The Names of the Constellations".For Your Information.Galaxy Science Fiction.pp. 90–99.

[5] Canis Maior and Columba in Bayers Uranometria 1603 (Linda Hall Library)Archived2007-04-27 at theWayback Machine

[6] Richard H. Allen (1899) Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning, pp. 166–168

[7] P.K. Chen (2007) A Constellation Album: Stars and Mythology of the Night Sky, p. 126 (ISBN 978-1-931559-38-6).

[8] Chen, p. 126.

[9] "NASA's OSIRIS-REx Students Catch Unexpected Glimpse of Newly Discovered Black Hole".NASA.28 February 2020.

[FOOTNOTEMakemson1941281-10] Makemson 1941,p. 281.

[FOOTNOTERidpathTirion2017122-11] Ridpath & Tirion 2017,p. 122.

[12] Madore, Barry F. (14 August 2002)."Astronomical Glossary".NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database.Retrieved31 January2023.

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