Bird of paradise (constellation)
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Constellation Bird of Paradise |
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| Latin name | Apus |
| Latin genitive | Apodis |
| Abbreviation | Aps |
| Right ascension | 13 h 49 m 51 s to 18 h 27 m 28 s |
| declination | −83 ° 07 ′ 12 ″ to −67 ° 28 ′ 48 ″ |
| surface | 206.327 deg² rank 67 |
| Completely visible | 6.4 ° N to 90 ° S |
| Observation time for Central Europe | not observable |
| Number of stars brighter than 3 mag | 0 |
| Brightest star (size) | α Apodis (3.83) |
| Meteor streams |
no |
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Neighboring constellations ( clockwise from north ) |
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| swell | IAU , |
 The Apus constellation as seen with the naked eye |
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The bird of paradise ( Latin / technical language Apus ) is a constellation of the southern sky.
description
The Bird of Paradise is an inconspicuous constellation near the southern celestial pole and neighboring the Octant constellation . Only two of its stars are brighter than the 4th magnitude . The constellation is said to represent a tropical bird .
history
The Bird of Paradise is one of the constellations introduced at the end of the 16th century by the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman . It is not known whether the seafarers invented the constellation or adopted it from the inhabitants of the South Seas. Johann Bayer took up the constellation under the name Avis Indica (Indian bird) in his 1603 celestial atlas Uranometria .
Celestial objects
Stars
Due to its southern location, the constellation does not contain any stars with Flamsteed designators.
| B. | MR | Names |
m | Lj | Spectral class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| α | 5470 | Alpha Apodis | 3.83 | 432 | K3 III |
| γ | 6102 | Gamma Apodis | 3.86 | 150 | G8 III |
| β | 6163 | Beta Apodis | 4.23 | 158 | K0 III |
| δ 1 | 6020 | Delta Apodis 1 | 4.68 | 770 | M5 IIIb |
| ζ | 6417 | Zeta Apodis | 4.76 | 312 | K1 III |
| η | 5303 | Eta Apodis | 4.89 | 140 | A2m |
| ε | 5336 | Epsilon Apodis | 5.06 | 551 | B4 V |
| δ 2 | 6021 | Delta Apodis 2 | 5.27 | 660 | K3 III |
| 5540 | R Apodis | 5.37 | 428 | K4 III | |
| ι | 6411 | Iota apodis | 5.39 | 1150 | B9 V + B9 V |
| κ 1 | 5730 | Kappa Apodis 1 | 5.40 | 1020 | B3 IVe + K5 IV |
| θ | 5261 | Theta Apodis | 5.50 | 328 | M6.5 III |
| 6135 | 5.50 | 940 | K1 III CN | ||
| κ 2 | 5782 | Kappa Apodis 2 | 5.64 | 735 | B7 III + K0 V |
The brightest star in the Bird of Paradise is α Apodis, a red giant about 430 light-years away with five times the mass of our sun .
Double stars
| system | m | distance |
|---|---|---|
| δ | 4.68 / 5.27 | 102.9 " |
| κ 1 | 5.43 / 12 | 27 " |
| κ 2 | 5.64 / 12.5 | 15 " |
δ Apodis is a binary star system 663 light years away. The lighter component is a red giant of the spectral class M5 III, which changes its brightness without any noticeable periodicity. The second component is an orange shining star belonging to the spectral class K3 III. Due to the wide angular distance of 102.9 arc seconds , the system can be resolved into single stars with binoculars .
Variable stars
| star | m | period | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| δ 1 | 4.66 to 4.87 | irregularly variable | |
| ε | 5.06 + - 0.05 | Be star | |
| κ 1 | 5.43 to 5.61 | Gamma Cassiopeiae star | |
| θ | 5.69 + - 0.56 | 119 days | semi-regularly changeable |
ε Apodis is a variable star of the Gamma-Cassiopeiae type, 551 light-years away . It shows slight fluctuations in brightness of 0.05 size classes.
θ Apodis is a semi-regularly variable star of the spectral class M. Its brightness varies between 5.5 and 6.6 within a period of about 119 days.
NGC objects
In New General Catalog recorded objects in the constellation Bird of Paradise:
| NGC | m | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 5612 | Galaxy | |
| 5799 | Galaxy | |
| 6101 | 9.0 | Globular clusters |
Web links
- Cross reference for 13 stars of the constellation.