Corvus

Corvus

List of stars in Corvus
Abbreviation	Crv
Genitive	Corvi
Pronunciation	/ˈkɔrvəs/, genitive /ˈkɔrvaɪ/
Symbolism	the Crow/Raven
Right ascension	12 h
Declination	−20°
Family	Hercules
Quadrant	SQ3
Area	184 sq. deg. (70th)
Main stars	4
Bayer/Flamsteed stars	10
Stars with known planets	1
Stars brighter than 3m	3
Stars within 10 pc (32.6 ly)	1
Brightest star	γ Crv (Gienah) (2.59m)
Nearest star	Ross 695 (28.99 ly, 8.89 pc)
Messier objects	0
Meteor showers	Corvids (June 26)
Bordering constellations	Virgo Crater Hydra
Visible at latitudes between +60° and −90°. Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of May.

Corvus is a small constellation in the southern sky. Its name is Latin for raven or crow. It includes only 11 stars visible to the naked eye (brighter than magnitude 5.5). It was one of the 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy, who only counted 7 stars,^[1] and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations.

Notable features

Stars

δ, γ, ε, and β form an asterism known as 'the sail'.^{[citation needed]} γ and δ serve as pointers toward Spica. The first five stars in Corvus correspond to the Hastā nakshatra, a lunar zodiacal constellation in Indian astronomy.

31 Crateris (which was originally numbered in Crater) is a 5.2 magnitude star which was once mistaken for a moon of Mercury.

Notable deep sky objects

Corvus contains no Messier objects.

The Antennae peculiar galaxy consists of the colliding NGC 4038 and NGC 4039, and appears to have a heart shape as seen from Earth. The name originates from the huge tidal tails that come off the ends of the two galaxies.

The center of Corvus is home to a planetary nebula NGC 4361. The nebula itself resembles a small elliptical galaxy, but the magnitude 13 center star gives away its true nature.

Mythology

See the story at constellations Crater and Hydra.

Once the crow had beautiful silver or snowy white feathers and could speak to humans, but that all changed. As Apollo's sacred bird, the crow (or Raven) was told to watch over his pregnant love, Coronis. Coronis slowly lost interest in Apollo and was attracted to a mere mortal. The crow, who was secretly spying on her, reported her unfaithfulness to Apollo. In a rage of anger he unfairly turned the loyal raven's feathers black and took away its ability to speak. Coronis was killed by Apollo's twin sister Artemis. The child of Coronis and Apollo was rescued and raised. He then became known as Asclepius, the god of medicine and healing.

Another well known story is that when Apollo sent his raven to get some water in the god's cup (Crater), the raven waited for some figs to ripen and had a feast on them. He came back very late with a water snake (Hydra) and the water in the cup (Crater) he was sent for. The foolish raven blamed his tardiness on the water snake. Apollo was not tricked. He put the raven in the sky along with the water snake and the cup. Until this day, the snake keeps water from the eternally thirsty raven, yet the raven always sees the water, just out of reach.

Citations

References

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (December 2008)

• Ian Ridpath and Wil Tirion (2007). Stars and Planets Guide, Collins, London. ISBN 978-0007251209. Princeton University Press, Princeton. ISBN 978-0691135564.
• Richard Hinckley Allen, Star Names, Their Lore and Legend, New York, Dover.
• Thomas Wm. Hamilton, Useful Star Names, Viewlex, Holbrook, New York, 1968.
• Hawaiian Astronomical Society
• Chandra X-ray Observatory
• Constellations of Words

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Corvus (constellation)

• The Deep Photographic Guide to the Constellations: Corvus
• Star Tales – Corvus and Crater

Coordinates: 12^h 00^m 00^s, −20° 00′ 00″