Constellation Dove

Constellations > Dove

Dove is a constellation located in the southern sky. From Latin “Columba” is translated as “dove”. However, from the very beginning it was called Columba Noachi – Noah’s Dove. This is a reference to the biblical dove that brought the message to Noah that the Great Flood was receding.

The constellation Dove was created by the Dutch astronomer Peter Planzius at the end of the 16th century, and in 1603 it was included in Johann Bayer’s Uranometria. It contains the famous runaway star Mu Dove, the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1808, and the globular cluster NGC 1851.

Facts, position and map

With an area of ​​270 square degrees, the Pigeon constellation is the 54th largest constellation. Located in the first quadrant of the southern hemisphere (SQ1). It can be seen at latitudes between + 45 ° and -90 °. Neighbors with Korma, Painter, Hare, Big Dog and Incisor. The pigeon is visible only south of the Great Dog and the Hare.

Not a single star is brighter than 3.00 and lies within 32.6 light years (10 parsecs). The brightest star is Alpha Dove (Fact). The closest is Gliese 218, 48.89 light years distant from us. There is one star WASP-63 (G8) with a transit planet. There are no Messier objects or meteor showers. Look at the diagram of the constellation Dove on the sky map.

It is included in the group of constellations of the Heavenly Waters along with Sails, Compass, Stern, Southern Fish, Eridanus, Little Horse, Dolphin and Carina.

Myth

The dove represents the bird of Noah. Peter Planzius created it from the stars that hid behind the constellation Karable Argo (the ship on which the Argonauts made their journey). In 1613, Plancius renamed it Noah’s Ark.

According to legend, Noah released a dove from the ark to check if there was dry land after the Great Flood. The bird returned with an olive branch in its beak, proving that the flood is receding. In some interpretations, the pigeon also refers to the Argonauts, who released it between the rocks in order to pass safely.

Main stars

Let’s explore the stars of the constellation Dove with a detailed description and characteristics.

Fact (Alpha Dove) is a double star, represented by a Be-type subgiant (a suspicious variable of the Cassiopeia Gamma type with an apparent magnitude of 2.62-2.66) and a faint companion with an apparent magnitude of 12.3. The first object is surrounded by an expanding gas envelope.

Ranks first in terms of brightness in the constellation. Belongs to spectral class B7IVe. From the Arabic “Al-Fahita” is translated as “dove” or “dove of the ring”. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 2.60 and is 270 light years distant.

Vesen (Beta Dove) is an orange giant of spectral class K1IIICN + 1. The name comes from the Arabic word for “weight”. It is in second place in terms of brightness with an apparent visual value of 3.12. Located 86 light years away.

Delta Dove is a spectroscopic binary system with a yellow giant of spectral type G7 III. It is 237 light years distant and has an apparent magnitude of 3.853. The name from Arabic al-ghuşn al-zaitūn means “olive branch”. The giant star has a close companion with an orbital period of 2.38 years.

Γ Dove (Gamma Dove) is a blue subgiant (B2.5 IV) with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.35. It is located approximately 854 light years from the solar system.

Mu Dove is a runaway star, possibly excluded from the Orion Iota system in the Orion Trapezoidal Cluster. It is a rapidly rotating star with a period of 1.5 days. Spectral class – O9.5 V. One of the rare O-class stars that can be seen with the naked eye. It is 1300 light years distant and has an apparent magnitude of 5.15.

Epsilon Dove is a giant star of spectral type K1 IIIa. It is 531 light years distant and has an apparent magnitude of 3.875.

This Dove is a yellow-orange giant (K0 III) located 531.2 light years from Earth. Apparent magnitude – 3.946.

Celestial objects

NGC 1808 is a Seyfert galaxy 40 million light years distant. It has an apparent magnitude of 10.8 and a size of 6’5 × 3′.9. It is a barred spiral galaxy. It is very similar to the Milky Way. It contains an unusual core in the form of a deformed disk and exhibits strange streams of hydrogen gas escaping from the central regions. It is believed that there is a lot of active star formation in the galaxy. Supernova SN 1993af was seen there in 1993.

NGC 1851 (Caldwell 73) is a globular cluster with an apparent magnitude of 7.3 and a distance of 39,500 light years. Area – 11 ‘.

NGC 1792 is a spiral galaxy with an apparent magnitude of 10.2. Discovered October 4, 1826 by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop. The apparent size is 5′.62 × 2.63.

ESO 306-17 is a giant elliptical galaxy of the cD3 (E + 3) type, located 493 million light years away. It spans about 1 million light-years in diameter, corresponding to an apparent size of 2.5 arc seconds. Apparent magnitude – 13.33.

Occupies a huge void and could destroy smaller galaxies in its area. Therefore, it is considered a petrified group or the end result of a collision and merger of a galaxy with a regular group of galaxies.

You can study the constellation Dove more closely if you use not only our photos, but 3D models and an online telescope. For an independent search, a static or moving map of the starry sky is suitable.

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