Chameleon (constellation)
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Chameleon constellation |
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| Latin name | Chameleon |
| Latin genitive | Chamaeleontis |
| Abbreviation | Cha |
| Right ascension | 07 h 26 m 37 s to 13 h 56 m 27 s |
| declination | −83 ° 11 ′ 46 ″ to −75 ° 17 ′ 24 ″ |
| surface | 131.592 deg² rank 79 |
| Completely visible | 5.0 ° N to 90 ° S |
| Observation time for Central Europe | not visible |
| Number of stars brighter than 3 mag | 0 |
| Brightest star (size) | α Chamaeleontis (4.05) |
| Meteor streams |
no |
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Neighboring constellations ( clockwise from north ) |
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| swell | IAU , |
The chameleon is a constellation in the southern sky.
description
The chameleon is a very inconspicuous constellation in the vicinity of the southern celestial pole . It consists of a group of stars , none of which are brighter than the 4th magnitude .
The constellation is in a relatively star-poor region away from the Milky Way and does not contain any interesting foggy objects. It cannot be observed from Europe due to its southern location.
history
The chameleon is one of the twelve constellations introduced by the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman between 1595 and 1597 . Johann Bayer took it over in 1603 in his star atlas Uranometria .
Celestial objects
Stars
| B. | Names or other designations | Magnitude | Lj | Spectral class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| α | 4.05 | 80 | F6 IV | |
| γ | 4.11 | 250 | M0 III | |
| β | 4.24 | |||
| θ | 4.34 | 800 | B0 V | |
| δ 2 | 4.45 | B3 | ||
| ε | 4.88 | 300 | B9 + A0 | |
| κ | 5.04 | |||
| ζ | 5.07 | |||
| ι | 5.34 | |||
| ν | 5.43 | |||
| δ 1 | 5.46 | K0 | ||
| η | 5.46 | |||
| μ | 5.53 | |||
| π | 5.64 | |||
| 6.05 | ||||
| μ 2 | 6.60 |
Alpha Chamaeleontis , the brightest star in the chameleon, is about 80 light-years away. It is a whitish shining star of the spectral class F6.
Gamma Chamaeleontis is a reddish star of the spectral class M0 250 light years away.
Double stars
| system | Sizes (mag) | distance |
|---|---|---|
| δ | 4.5 / 5.5 | 265 " |
| ε | 4.9 / 6.5 | 135 " |
The stars δ 1 and δ 2 appear as double stars to the naked eye . In fact, they are not physically connected to each other, but only stand in the same direction in space from earth. It is therefore an "optical" double star.
Deep sky objects
| NGC | Apparent brightness (mag) | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 3195 | 11.6 | Planetary nebula |
Planemos
See Cha 110913
See also
- List of constellations
- CHXR 73 - a star in the constellation Chameleon
Web links
- Cosmic birth pangs in miniature. On: Wissenschaft.de from December 1, 2005.