Musca

Musca
Musca
Constellation
Musca
List of stars in Musca
Abbreviation Mus
Genitive Muscae
Pronunciation /ˈmʌskə/, genitive /ˈmʌsiː/
Symbolism the Fly
Right ascension 12.456 h
Declination −70.341°
Quadrant SQ3
Area 138 sq. deg. (77th)
Main stars 6
Bayer/Flamsteed
stars
13
Stars with planets 1
Stars brighter than 3.00m 1
Stars within 10.00 pc (32.62 ly) 1
Brightest star α Mus (2.69m)
Nearest star Gliese 440
(15.07 ly, 4.62 pc)
Messier objects none
Meteor showers ?????
?????
Bordering
constellations
Apus
Carina
Centaurus
Chamaeleon
Circinus
Crux
Visible at latitudes between +10° and −90°.
Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of May.

Musca (Latin: fly) is one of the minor southern constellations. The constellation was one of twelve constellations created by Petrus Plancius from the observations of Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman and it first appeared on a 35-cm diameter celestial globe published in 1597 (or 1598) in Amsterdam by Petrus Plancius and Jodocus Hondius. The first depiction of this constellation in a celestial atlas was in Johann Bayer's Uranometria of 1603.

Contents

Notable objects

The soft X-ray transient Nova Muscae 1991 is a binary object consisting of a star and a black hole. During the 1991 outburst which led to its discovery, radiation was produced through a process of positron annihilation. Musca also contains the unusual planetary nebula NGC 5189, located about 3,000 light years from earth. Its uniquely complex structure resembles a miniature crab nebula. Also within the constellation is the Hourglass Nebula (MyCn 18) at a distance of about 8,000 light years. The comparatively old globular cluster NGC 4833 near Delta Muscae is 21,200 light years distant and somewhat obscured by dust clouds near the galactic plane. The globular cluster NGC 4372 near Gamma Muscae is fainter and likewise partially obscured by dust, but spans more arc minutes.

History

Musca, under its original name Apisthe Bee, was introduced in the late 16th century by Petrus Plancius to fill the previously uncharted area around the southern pole and to provide nourishment for the nearby constellation Chamaeleon (17th-century celestial maps clearly show the chameleon's tongue trying to catch the insect). In 1752 Nicolas Louis de Lacaille renamed it to Musca Australis, the Southern Fly – Australis, since it counterparted the now discarded constellation of Musca Borealis composed of a few stars in Aries, and to avoid confusion with Apus. Today the name is simply Musca.[1]

Citations

References

External links

Coordinates: Sky map 12h 27m 36s, −70° 20′ 24″


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • muscă — MÚSCĂ, muşte, s.f. I. 1. Denumire dată mai multor genuri de insecte cu aparatul bucal adaptat pentru supt, dintre care cea mai cunoscută (Musca domestica) trăieşte pe lângă casa omului; p. gener. (pop.) nume dat oricărei insecte mici, zburătoare …   Dicționar Român

  • muşca — MUŞCÁ, muşc, vb. I. l. tranz. A apuca cu dinţii şi a strânge tare (provocând durere, rănind sau sfâşiind). ♢ expr. A şi muşca mâinile (sau degetele) = a) a se căi amarnic; b) a se înfuria. A şi muşca limba (sau buzele) = a şi ascunde un sentiment …   Dicționar Român

  • Musca — (lat. für ‚Fliege‘) steht für: Musca (Gattung), eine Gattung aus der Gruppe der Fliegen Stubenfliege (Musca domestica), eine Art aus der Gattung Musca Fliege (Sternbild), in der Astronomie ein Sternbild des südlichen Himmels Siehe auch: Fliege… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Musca — Mus ca, prop. n.; pl. {Musc[ae]}. [L., a fly.] 1. (Zo[ o]l.) A genus of dipterous insects, including the common house fly, and numerous allied species. [1913 Webster] Note: Formerly, a large part of the Diptera were included under the genus… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Musca — (lat.), Fliege, Mücke. Muscae hispanĭcae (Spanische Fliegen), so v.w. Kanthariden …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Musca — Musca, die Fliege; Muscidae (Fliegen), Familie aus der Ordnung der Zweiflügler; s. Fliegen, S. 692 …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Musca — (lat.), die Fliege (s. Fliegen) …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • MUSCA — Poetrialyrica, quae epigrammata et odas conscripsit. Cael. Rhodig. l. 14. c. 1 …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • Musca — [mus′kə] n. [L, a fly: see MIDGE] a S constellation near Crux …   English World dictionary

  • Musca — Para el género de insectos que incluye la mosca doméstica, véase Musca (género). Musca Nombre Latino Musca …   Wikipedia Español

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