Flying fish (constellation)
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Flying Pisces constellation |
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| Latin name | Volans |
| Latin genitive | Volantis |
| Abbreviation | Vol |
| Right ascension | 06 h 31 m 05 s to 09 h 04 m 23 s |
| declination | −75 ° 29 ′ 44 ″ to −64 ° 06 ′ 25 ″ |
| surface | 141.354 deg² rank 76 |
| Completely visible | 14.3 ° N to 90 ° S |
| Observation time for Central Europe | not observable |
| Number of stars brighter than 3 mag | 0 |
| Brightest star (size) | β Volantis (3.77) |
| Meteor streams |
no |
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Neighboring constellations ( clockwise from north ) |
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| swell | IAU , |
 The constellation Volans, the flying fish as can be seen with the naked eye |
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The flying fish ( Latin Volans or Piscis Volans ) is a constellation of the southern sky .
description
The flying fish is an inconspicuous constellation south of the ship's keel (Carina). None of its stars are brighter than the 3rd magnitude .
history
The flying fish is one of the constellations introduced at the end of the 16th century by the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman . Johann Bayer took the constellation in his 1603 published sky atlas Uranometria .
Celestial objects
Stars
| B. | F. | Names or other designations | m | Lj | Spectral class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| β | 3.77 | 108 | K1 III | ||
| γ 2 | 3.78 | 142 | K0 III | ||
| ζ | 3.93 | 134 | K0 III | ||
| δ | 3.97 | 660 | F6 II | ||
| α | 4.00 | 124 | A2-3 IVm | ||
| ε | 4.35 | 642 | B6 IV | ||
| HR 3280 | 5.06 | 296 | K1 III | ||
| HR 2662 | 5.18 | 290 | K3 III | ||
| θ | 5.19 | 239 | A0 V | ||
| η 2 | 5.28 | 356 | A0-1 IV-V | ||
| κ 1 | 5.33 | 391 | B9 III-IV | ||
| HR 3537 | 5.34 | 171 | F5 IV | ||
| ι | 5.41 | 559 | B7 IV | ||
| κ 2 | 5.63 | ||||
| γ 1 | 5.68 |
The brightest star in the flying fish is β Volantis, a 108 light-years distant orange star of the spectral class K2 III.
| system | Apparent brightness (mag) | distance |
|---|---|---|
| γ | 3.78 / 5.68 | 13.6 " |
| κ | 5.33 / 5.63 / 8.5 | 65 "/ 37.7" |
The second brightest star, γ Volantis, is a binary star system 142 light years away. Due to the relatively large angular distance of 13.6 arc seconds , both stars can be observed with a small telescope.
κ Volantis is a three-star system 393 light years away. The brightest component is κ 1 , a bluish giant star belonging to the spectral class B9. At a distance of 65 arc seconds there is κ², a sub-giant of the spectral class A0. The third component, κ Volantis C. κ 1 and κ 2 can be separated with prism binoculars , 37.7 arc seconds away . All three stars are visible in a smaller telescope.
Epsilon Volantis (ε Volantis) is another three-star system.
NGC objects
| NGC | other | Apparent brightness (mag) | Type | Surname |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2442 | Galaxy |
The barred spiral galaxy NGC 2442 can be observed in the flying fish .
