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Winter: Orion   Canis Major   Canis Minor   Monoceros   Lepus   Eridanus   Taurus   Auriga   Camelopardalis   Lynx   Gemini   Cancer  
Spring: Hydra   Sextans   Crater   Corvus   Leo   Leo Minor   Ursa Major   Ursa Minor   Canes Venatici   Coma Berenices   Virgo   Bootes  
Summer: Draco   Corona Borealis   Hercules   Ophiuchus   Serpens   Libra   Scorpius   Sagittarius   Scutum   Aquila   Sagitta   Vulpecula   Lyra   Cygnus  
Autumn: Andromeda   Perseus   Pegasus   Cassiopeia   Cepheus   Cetus   Lacerta   Delphinus   Equuleus   Capricornus   Aquarius   Pisces   Aries  
Southern Skies: Centaurus   Crux   Lupus   Corona Australis   Piscis Australis   Sculptor   Tucana   Fornax   Dorado   Columba   Puppis   Carina   Vela  
(alphabetical links)

CENTAURUS

The Centaur

centaurus bayers (174K)
Centaurus - Uranometria by Johann Bayer - 1603






Centaurus is found in the southern sky, and isn't visible much above 25 degrees latitude, but it is one of the most important constellations in the sky, containing the closest star to Earth, as well as the brightest and most impressive globular cluster in the sky. The constellation represents the classic Centaur - half man, half horse - of mythology, named Chiron. According to legend he was wise and benevolent, and tutored Hercules, the son of Zeus (Jupiter). When Hercules accidentally shot and killed Chiron with a poisoned arrow, he asked Zeus to immortalise his beloved teacher by placing his image in the sky. Centaurus is seen straddling probably the most famous and most distinguishable constellation in the southern sky: Crux (the southern cross). Chiron carries a spear, with which he threatens the wolf, Lupus, placed in the sky beside him.

centaurus1 (40K)

The constellation of Centaurus has the important distinction of containing the closest star to Earth: Proxima Centauri. Although it is closer than any other star, Proxima Centauri is still a staggering 4.21 light years away, about 25 trillion miles. The fastest possible twenty-first century technology would still take tens of thousands of years to reach it.

Proxima Centauri is an M5 red dwarf, only one seventh the size of our Sun. With an apparent magnitude of 11.05, it is well out of range of naked eye visibility. Because it is so close to the binary system of Alpha Centauri, most scientists agree it must be in some way gravitationally bound to them, although this has not been officially confirmed.

Slightly further away, at a distance of 4.37 light years, Alpha Centauri is the third brightest star in the sky. With an apparent magnitude of -0.27, only Sirius and Canopus are brighter. Appearing as one bright star to the naked eye, Alpha Centauri is actually a binary system, consisting of Alpha Centauri A, and Alpha Centauri B. As mentioned above, if Proxima Centauri is in fact a gravitational partner of these two stars, it would make Alpha Centauri a triple star system. Alpha Centauri is also known as Rigel Kentaurus, the foot of the Centaur.

As well as containing the closest star to Earth, Centaurus also harbors the brightest globular cluster in the entire sky: NGC 5139. With an apparent magnitude of 3.9, it was considered a star throughout most of history, and given the designation of a star, Omega Centauri, by which it is referred to this day. It wasn't until 1830 when English astronomer John Herschel first identified it as a globular star cluster. It is 15,800 light years away, and contains tens of millions of stars, very much more than any of the 150 other globular clusters that surround our galaxy.

ngc5139-omega centauri-eso-sm (210K)
NGC 5139 - Omega Centauri - European Southern Observatory - June, 2011






With an apparent magnitude of 6.8, NGC 5128 is the fifth brightest galaxy in the sky, making it a favourite target for small telescopes. Also known as Centaurus A, or Caldwell 77, it is 15 million light years away. NGC 5128 is a powerful source of X-rays, produced by a supermassive black hole at its centre.

ngc5128-eso (155K)
NGC 5128 - Centaurus A - European Southern Observatory, Chile - January, 2009


NGC 4945 is a large spiral galaxy very similar to our own Milky Way galaxy. It is 13 million light years away, with an apparent magnitude of 9.2.

ngc4945-eso (169K)
NGC 4945 - Spiral Galaxy - European Southern Observatory, Chile - September, 2009



Alphabetical Links to the Constellations

ANDROMEDA   AQUARIUS   AQUILA   ARIES   AURIGA   BOOTES   CAMELOPARDALIS   CANCER   CANES VENATICI   CANIS MAJOR   CANIS MINOR   CAPRICORNUS   CARINA   CASSIOPEIA   CENTAURUS   CEPHEUS   CETUS   COLUMBA   COMA BERENICES   CORONA AUSTRALIS   CORONA BOREALIS   CORVUS   CRATER   CRUX   CYGNUS   DELPHINUS   DORADO   DRACO   EQUULEUS   ERIDANUS   FORNAX   GEMINI   HERCULES   HYDRA   LACERTA   LEO   LEO MINOR   LEPUS   LIBRA   LUPUS   LYNX   LYRA   MONOCEROS   OPHIUCHUS   ORION   PEGASUS   PERSEUS   PISCES   PISCIS AUSTRALIS   PUPPIS   SAGITTA   SAGITTARIUS   SCORPIUS   SCULPTOR   SCUTUM   SERPENS   SEXTANS   TAURUS   TUCANA   URSA MAJOR   URSA MINOR   VELA   VIRGO   VULPECULA  

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