- Fornax
Infobox Constellation
name = Fornax
abbreviation = For
genitive = Fornacis
symbology = the furnace
RA = 3
dec= −30
areatotal = 398
arearank = 41st
numbermainstars = 2
numberbfstars = 27
numberstarsplanets = 1
numberbrightstars = 0
numbernearbystars = 2
brighteststarname = α For
starmagnitude = 3.87
neareststarname = HD 14412
stardistance = 41.35
numbermessierobjects = None
meteorshowers = None
bordering =Cetus
Sculptor
Phoenix
Eridanus
latmax = 50
latmin = 90
month = December
notes=Fornax (pronEng|ˈfɔrnæks, _la.
furnace ) is a southernconstellation which was first introduced byNicolas Louis de Lacaille under the name "Fornax Chemica" (Latin for "chemical furnace"), representing a small solid-fuel heater formerly used for heating chemicalexperiment s.The
Fornax Dwarf galaxy is in Fornax.The
Hubble Ultra Deep Field is located within Fornax.At a meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society in Britain, a team from University of Queensland described 40 unknown "dwarf" galaxies in this constellation.
They also described Fornax as being "on Earth's doorstep", because α Fornacis is only about 46 light-years away.
Follow-up observations with the Hubble Space Telescope and the European Southern Observatory's
Very Large Telescope revealed that Ultra Compact Dwarfs are much smaller than previously known dwarf galaxies, about 120 light-years across."Tens of millions of stars are squashed into what is a tiny volume by galaxy standards," the observatory said in a statement.
The
Fornax Cluster , a smallcluster of galaxies lies primarily in the constellation Fornax.Mythology
In
Roman mythology , Fornax was the goddess of bread and baking, although this has nothing to do with the constellation ("fornax" is just the Roman word for "furnace"), as the constellation was created in 1756.Deep sky objects
NGC 1316 is a notably brightelliptical galaxy within theFornax Cluster . The galaxy is also one of the brightestradio sources in the sky.References
* Ian Ridpath and Wil Tirion (2007). "Stars and Planets Guide", Collins, London. ISBN 978-0007251209. Princeton University Press, Princeton. ISBN 978-0691135564.
External links
* [http://www.allthesky.com/constellations/fornax/constell.html The Deep Photographic Guide to the Constellations: Fornax]
* [http://www.starrynightphotos.com/constellations/fornax_phoenix.htm Starry Night Photography - Fornax Constellation]
* [http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/fornax.htm Star Tales – Fornax]
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