Name a Star in the Caelum Constellation

The Caelum Constellation was formed by French Astronomer Abbé Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, who named it 1756, as “les Burins,” and depicted it as two crossed carving tools. In Johann Bode’s star atlas Uranographia in 1801 it was referred to as Caelum Sculptorium, meaning the sculptor’s chisel.  This diminutive sliver of the sky is situated between the constellations Columbo (the Dove) and Eridanus (the River). There are no major stars in this faint constellation which can be observed from throughout much of the southern hemisphere year-round, and as far north as Denver, CO in the winter. It comes to the meridian with the star Aldebaran on the 10th of January. There are no major meteor showers associated with this constellation. Caelum’s neighboring constellations are Columba, Dorado, Eridanus, Lepus, and Pictor.   

The Caelum constellation is best seen during January, around 9 pm. This constellation occupies an area of 125 square degrees, and if you want to check it out start by picking Canopus, the brightest of Carina’s stars, and then spot the small chisel nearby east.  

Symbol: Cae 

Right Ascension: 04:40 

Declination: -40 

Diameter (°): 7 

Area (square °):  125 

Opposition: Dec 03 

Size Rank: 81st 

Brightness Rank: 87th  

Genitive: Cauli 

Largest Stars in Caelum 

α Caeli (Alpha Caeli) 

γ Caeli (Gamma Caeli) 

β Caeli (Beta Caeli) 

δ Caeli (Delta Caeli) 

ν Caeli (Nu Caeli)   

Deep Sky Objects in Caelum 

There are a few faint objects in the Caelum constellation, including a planetary nebula and a quasar. 

HE0450-2958,  

IC 2106 

NGC 1571 

NGC 1679  

PN G243-37.1  

History of the Constellation Caelum 

There are no myths associated with the constellation Caelum, as Abbé Nicolas Louis de Lacaille chose the names of scientific instruments and objects of his day. His studies were conducted at the Cape of Good Hope, which is the southern tip of South Africa. With the aid of a half-inch refractor, he studied 10,000 stars and named 14 of the currently recognized 88 constellations.  Although the neighboring constellations, including Lepus, Eridanus, and Columba have associated mythological histories, this sparsely populated area of very faint stars was relatively unremarkable and did not spark the imaginations of the ancient astronomers. It is one of the constellations introduced by the French astronomer Lacaille in the 18th century. Lacaille named his constellations after various instruments and tools, not stories and myths. Other constellations named by Abbé Nicolas Louis de Lacaille include: Antlia, Circinus, Fornax, Horologium, Mensa,  Microscopium,  Norma, Octans, Pictor, Reticulum, Sculptor, and Telescopium.