Grus (constellation)
- Southern fish
- Microscope
- Indian
- Toucan
- Phoenix
- Sculptor
The crane ( Grus Latin ) is a constellation of the southern sky.
Description
The crane has approximately the shape of an inverted Y. Two of its stars, α and β Gruis, are extremely light and have a clear color contrast. α Gruis lit bluish white, while β Gruis orange.
From the crane is from Germany in very clear autumn nights at most of the northern part to see the star γ Gruis. Fully visible he is only south of the 35th parallel.
History
Originally, the stars were the constellation Southern assigned fish.
End of the 16th century described the Dutch navigator and explorer Pieter Keyser and Frederick de Houtman Dirkszoon the stars as a separate constellation the Reygher ( " Heron " ) Crane. Petrus Plancius and Jodocus Hondius put it in 1598, respectively. 1600, Phoenicopterus ( "Phoenix" ). Johann Bayer took over the constellation then under the present name in 1603 published his sky atlas Uranometria.
Celestial objects
Stars
α Gruis, the brightest star in the crane is 101 light years away. The name Al Nair is ancient Arabic origin and means " the enlightened one ."
γ Gruis is 203 light years distant, bluish shining star of spectral type B8. The Arabic name Al Dhanab means " tail".
Double stars
The night sky about the same bright star δ1 and δ2 Gruis appear to the naked eye as a double star system, as they are only 16.1 arc minutes apart. However, this is only an " optical double star ," whose stars are seen from Earth in one direction. In fact, the stars are 150 and 450 light- years away from Earth.
A "real" physical binary star system whose components move around a common center of gravity, is πGruis in 200 light years away. The system can already be resolved with a smaller telescope in single stars.
NGC objects
In the northeastern part of the crane are several galaxies. To observe one needs a telescope of at least 15 cm opening.