Chamaleon, mythology, history and observations by telescope

Mythology of Chamaleon

Chamaleon is a constellation to circunpolar austral introduced by Bayer in 1603 in its Uranometría as a result of the news that provided some travellers to him by their similarity to the animal.

Chamaleon is a circumpolar austral constellation located in the parallel -80º and between the meridians 8h to 14h, remains always visible for paises that is South al of latitude -15º and hair net for paises whose latitude is superior to 15º of North latitude. He appears had in almost parallel direction of the local course the Milky Route with a galactic latitude of -20º; and he is peculiar to find in this region of the austral sky a similarity with the Little Bear of our boreal firmament.

It limits the north with the constellations of Musca, Carina and Volans; to the east with the constellation of Mensa (the table), to the south with Octans (Octante) constellation in which is the celestial South Pole, and to the west with Apus.

To date, I have not been able to locate it to be in very austral latitudes from the island of Majorca where alive, although I do not discard to someday make a trip to the seas of the south, and to lose to me in an island of the desert Pacific to be able to contemplate and to locate the constellations that I have left to discover.

Constelación de Ara

Main stars

Alpha, a; of 4.05 magnitude and clear yellow color; one is to 63 years light, and situa in the Eastern sector of the constellation.

Beta, b; located in the other end of the constellation it is of magnitude 4.25, of blue color to 271 years light.

Gamma, g; of magnitude 4.10, reddish that is to 413 years light. One is in the central sector of the constellation. She is 300 times more luminous than our Sun, being therefore a red giant.

Delta, d; of magnitude 4.50, located to 1,100 years light of the Earth, forms part of system double stellar optician which it is possible to be separated at first denominating d₁ and d₂, whose secondary of magnitude 4.50 light of us is to 400 years, is to say close more than d₁. As well, d₁forms a physical binary system of dificilmente separable total magnitude 6.0 (0.50 "of arc).

Other objects

There is nothing no remarkable in the constellation, séase stellar or globular galaxies, nebulas, clusters.

To date observations by telescope have not been made since it is located in the South hemisphere, next to the celestial and invisible South Pole from where I write these lines to you, Majorca, Spain, although I do not discard to someday make a trip to the seas of the south, and to lose to me in an island of the Pacific to be able to contemplate and to locate the constellations that still I have left to discover.

Next in the following window you can select the constellation that you want to locate, to observe and to discover following with the thematic one of the Web of Masm.