Horologium
No
- Eridanus
- Small water snake
- Network
- Swordfish
- Burin
The pendulum clock (Latin Horologium ) is a constellation of the southern sky.
Description
The pendulum is an inconspicuous constellation, which consists of a chain of faint stars. Only one is brighter than the fourth magnitude. It is found west of the bright star Achernar, the southernmost star of Eridanus. The constellation can only be fully observed from locations south of the 20th parallel. In the far south of Germany the main star of the constellation increases pendulum for a short time and only very low over the southern horizon.
History
The constellation was introduced in 1752 by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille under the name Horologium Oscillitorium. Lacaille summed together stars of the southern hemisphere "new" constellations, which he named after technical equipment.
Celestial objects
Stars
α Horologii is 200 light years distant, orange shining star of spectral type K1 III.
ι Horologii is 50 light years away. In 1998 an exoplanet was discovered in the star.
Variable Stars
R Horologii is a variable star Mira type, which is very changing its brightness over a period of 405 days. While the maximum it can be seen with the naked eye as a reddish star. While the minimum one needs to observe an average telescope. R Hor is about 500 light-years away and is part of the spectral class M7 III on.
NGC objects
In the pendulum are the globular clusters NGC 1261 and NGC 1433.