Chameleon Star Constellation

29/03/2020

Did you know?
There is a CHAMELEON star constellation.
Abbreviation: Cha
Right Ascension: 11 hours Declination: -80 degrees
Area in Square Degrees: 132
Crosses Meridian: 9 PM, April 15
Visible Between Latitudes: 0 and -90 degrees
The constellation named "Chamaeleon", the chameleon, is located in the southern hemisphere of the sky. It is only visible in southern latitudes south of 0 degrees. It is a circumpolar constellation, meaning that it is visible all night as it rotates around the south celestial pole. With a total area of only 132 square degrees, it is one of the smallest constellations in the night sky. It ranks 79th in size among the 88 constellations. It is bordered by the constellations Apus, Carina, Mensa, Musca, Octans, and Volans.
There is no mythology associated with the Chameleon. The constellation is located so far south that it was not visible to the ancient Greeks or Romans. It is one of twelve constellations named by the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius based on observations made by Dutch navigators. It first appeared on a celestial globe published by Plancius in 1597. It was later included Johann Bayer's star atlas in 1603. It was depicted as a chameleon sticking its tongue out to catch the fly represented by the neighboring constellation Musca, which was originally called Apis (the bee) but changed to Musca by Lacaille later on.
The Chameleon has a clear affinity to the fly (Musca, originally bee - Apis).

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Author: Petr Nečas
My projects:   ARCHAIUS   │   CHAMELEONS.INFO