Constellation chanterelle

Constellations > Chanterelle

Chanterelle is a constellation located in the northern sky and from Latin “Vulpecula” is translated as “little fox”.

It is a rather faint constellation, in which there are no stars brighter than magnitude 4. Centered in the middle of the Summer-Autumn Triangle (an asterism created by Vega, Altair and Deneb).

The constellation appeared thanks to Jan Hevelius at the end of the 17th century. From the very beginning, he called it “Vulpecula cum ansere” (Little fox with a goose) – it was displayed as a fox holding a goose in its teeth. The stars were later separated to create two different constellations, but then they were reunited again. The goose was excluded from the name, but the brightest star was left under this name.

Notable objects in the constellation of the Fox include the Dumbbell Nebula (Messier 27), the elliptical galaxy NGC 7052, and the Brochka cluster. It also sheltered the first discovered pulsar PSR B1919 + 21 (1967).

Facts, position and map

With an area of ​​268 square degrees, the chanterelle constellation ranks 55th in size. Covers the fourth quadrant in the northern hemisphere (NQ4). Can be found at latitudes between + 90 ° and -55 °. Adjacent to the Swan, Dolphin, Hercules, Lyra, Pegasus and Arrow.

Accommodates a Messier object (Messier 27) and 4 stars with planets. The brightest is Alpha Chanterelles, whose apparent visual magnitude is 4.44. There are no meteor showers. Included in the Hercules group together with the Eagle, Altar, Centaurus, Raven, Chalice, Swan, Hercules, Lyra, Arrow, Shield, Sextant, Serpent, Ophiuchus, Wolf, Hydra, Southern Triangle, Southern Cross and Southern Crown. Consider the diagram of the constellation Chanterelle on the map of the starry sky.

History

The constellation has no mythological basis. Jan Hevelius introduced it in 1687, placing it next to other predators: the Eagle and Lyra (the vulture was associated with it). Hevelius saw in him a small fox carrying a goose in its fangs. Moreover, she was heading for Cerberus (a three-headed dog guarding the entrance to the underworld). Hevelius also created the constellation Cerberus, but now it is obsolete and not used.

Later, Chanterelle was stripped into a fox and a goose, but this state of affairs did not last long. They became one again under the modern name.

Main stars

Study carefully the bright stars of the constellation Chanterelle in the northern hemisphere with a detailed description and characteristics.

Alpha Chanterelles is a red star (M0III) with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.44 (the brightest in the constellation) and a distance of 297 light years. With the star 8, Chanterelles forms a wide optical binary star. 8 Chanterelles are an orange giant (K0III) with a distance of 484 light years and an apparent magnitude of 5.81.

23 Chanterelles is a binary star (K3III) with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.52 and a distance of 328 light years.

31 Chanterelles is a variable star (G8III) with a visual magnitude of 4.59 and a distance of 216.57 light years.

HD 189733 (V452 Chanterelles) is a binary star located 0.3 degrees east of Messier 27 in the Dumbbell Nebula. The main object is an orange dwarf (K1.5V), and the second is a red dwarf. The apparent magnitudes are 6.07 and 10.116, and the orbital period is 3200 years. The system is very easy to find with binoculars.

The main star is smaller and dimmer than the Sun. It reaches 82% of the solar mass, 75% of the radius, and only 26.4% of the brightness. Age – 600 million years. This is the BY Dragon variable (brightness changes due to rotation and spotting by 1.5 percent in visible light).

Exoplanet HD 189733 b was found in October 2005. It is hot Jupiter with an orbit close to an orange dwarf. Became the first exoplanet found with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

PSR B1919 + 21 is the first pulsar found. It is located at 2,283.12 light years, has a period of 1.3373 seconds, and a pulse duration of 0.04 seconds. From the very beginning, it was designated as CP 1919.

The name PSR B1919 + 21 comes from the word “pulsar”, declination and right ascension in which it is located. In 1967, it was found by the British astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell and her Ph.D. Anthony Hewish. Together they received the Nobel Prize in Physics. At first they thought they had received a signal from extraterrestrial intelligence. But astrophysicist Thomas Gold and astronomer Fred Hoyle identified the pulses as a rapidly spinning neutron star with very powerful magnetic fields.

PSR B1937 + 21 is the first millisecond pulsar discovered, located a few degrees from PSR B1919 + 21. It was found in 1982. The rotation period is 1.557708 milliseconds (642 revolutions per second).

Celestial objects

The Dumbbell Nebula (M27, NGC 6853) is one of the most famous planetary nebulae with an apparent magnitude of 7.5 and a distance of 1360 light years. Covers 8 arc minutes in diameter (can be found with binoculars or an amateur telescope). In the center is a white dwarf.

Formed when a dying star threw off gas. It is called Dumbbell because the structure with double blades resembles this object.

This is the first nebula ever discovered. Found by Charles Messier in 1764.

NGC 7052 is an elliptical galaxy with an apparent visual magnitude of 13.4 and a distance of 191 million light years. This is a well-known radio source.

A disk of dust with a diameter of 3,700 light years is visible. It is believed to have formed after a collision with a galaxy in the past. Over the next several billion years, it will be swallowed by a black hole, which bypasses the disk 100 times in massiveness.

NGC 6820 and NGC 6823

NGC 6820 is an emission nebula that surrounds the open cluster NGC 6823, located near Messier 27.

The cluster is 50 light-years wide and 6,000 light-years distant.

The center of NGC 6823 is 2 million years old. Accommodates many young blue stars. The outer parts of the cluster are home to even younger stars.

NGC 6885 (Callwell 37) is an open star cluster with a visual magnitude of 5.7-8.1 and a distance of 1.950 light years.

It is located near the Dumbbell Nebula and surrounds a star belonging to spectral class O or B. It can be seen with the naked eye.

The Brocchi Cluster (Collinder 399) is a group of stars located near the constellation Arrow. The brighter ones create the As-Sufi (Hanger) asterism. It was discovered by the Persian astronomer As-Sufi in 964.

In the 17th century, the cluster was independently discovered by the Italian astronomer Giovanni Batista Godierna, and the amateur astronomer D. Brocci created a map for use in calibrating photometers. Swedish astronomer Per Collinder included it in his catalog in 1931.

Asterism As-Sufi (Hanger) is an asterism created by the 10 brightest stars of the Brokchi cluster. It resembles a coat hanger in appearance, so it is easy to find it with binoculars.

You have the opportunity to explore the constellation Chanterelle in the Northern Hemisphere more carefully if you use not only our photos, but 3D models and an online telescope. For an independent search, a map of the starry sky is suitable.

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