Musca Borealis

The northern fly (Latin musca borealis ) is a constellation of the northern sky, which is indeed found in some star catalogs of the modern era, but not one of the 88 of the International Astronomical Union ( IAU) recognized constellations. It is in line with the historical constellations bee ( Apes) by Plancius and wasp ( Vespa ) by Bartsch.

Description

The northern fly is a small group of stars in the eastern part of the official constellation Aries adjacent to the constellations Perseus and triangle. Main star is the star of the third magnitude Bharani (41 Arietis ).

History

1598 appears the constellation as a bee (Apes ) on a celestial globe by Petrus Plancius, 1600 at Jodocus Hondius, 1602 /03 even with Blaeu. But Jacob Bartsch calls it 1624 Wasp because Bayer has also introduced a bee (Apis ) in the southern sky (now the fly), and interprets them in a religious context as an insect that is mentioned in the story of Samson. Musca 's her name then for the first time in Johannes Hevelius in the Uranographia of 1664, published posthumously in 1690, later Musca Borealis in contrast to the ( southern ) fly, and also in the idea of the stars, and by Johann Elert Bode in 1782 Uranographia they can still be found.

In the Uranometria Johann Bayer from 1603 it is not listed.