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Ara
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Arae
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the Altar
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1739
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&minus5358
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237
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63rd
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1
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&beta Ara
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29
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None
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"http://wwwseattleluxurycom/encyclopedia/entry/Vrhbosna/Telescopium" class="copylinks">Telescopium
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25
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90
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July
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(
Latin for ''
Altar '') is a faint southerly
Constellation between the constellations
Telescopium and
Norma .
Ara's brightest star,
β Arae , has an
Apparent Magnitude of 2.9. Its γ star is a
Double Star just south of β.
μ Arae is believed to have at least three planets orbiting it, one of which is thought to be rocky in nature.
The northwest corner of Ara is crossed by the
Milky Way and contains several
Open Cluster s and
Diffuse Nebula e. The brightest of the
Globular Cluster s,
NGC 6397 , is 8,200
Light-year s from our
Solar System and may be the closest cluster of that kind.
This constellation was one of
Ptolemy 's original 48 constellations.
The altar, usually depicted upside down, but sometimes upright with the smoke drifting into the Milky Way, was identified as that of the
Centaur Chiron ; its original Latin name was Ara Centauri. It was also occasionally called the altar of
Dionysus . Since, however, the constellation was identified, and introduced, in the 18th Century, connection to this mythology is likely to have been by design of the constellation's creator, and unconnected to the actual beliefs of the ancient Greeks about this area of sky.
Source:
The Bright Star Catalogue, 5th Revised Ed.,
The Hipparcos Catalogue, ESA SP-1200
