Name a Star in the Corona Australis Constellation

Often called the Southern Crown, this constellation is seen in the southern hemisphere close to the waist of Sagittarius on the edge of the Milky Way. It is one of the 48 original constellations listed by Ptolemy in 2nd-century. The constellation is not bright, but it is easily identified by the distinctive horseshoe shape in the southern sky. It can be seen as far north as the Southern US and North Africa. It is host to the short-lived Corona Australis meteor shower in mid-March of each year. Constellations near Corona Australis include Sagittarius, Scorpius, Telescopium, and Ara.  

Symbol: CrA 

Right Ascension: 06:53 

Declination: -40 

Diameter (°): 8 

Area (square °): 128 

Opposition: Jul 04 

Size Rank: 80th 

Brightness Rank: 65th 

Genitive: Coronae Australis 

Major or notable stars in Corona Australis 

Meridiana – α Coronae Australis (Alpha Coronae Australis) 

β Coronae Australis (Beta Coronae Australis) 

β Coronae Australis (Beta Coronae Australis) 

RX J1856.5-3754 

Deep Sky Objects in Corona Australis 

Corona Australis Nebula  

NGC 6541 

NGC 6726/NGC 6727 

NGC 6729 (Caldwell 68) 

Coronet cluster 

Mythology of the Constellation Corona Australis 

There are not many myths associated with Corona Australis, but it is sometimes known as the crown of Sagittarius.  One story is that the crown was placed in the heavens by Bacchus, the God of Wine.  The story says that the mortal woman Stimula had been impregnated by the God Jupiter. This caused Jupiter’s wife Juno to become angry and jealous. Juno tricked Stimula into asking Jupiter to let her see him in his full Olympian splendor. Once he did, the sight of it was too much for the mortal. She was burned to death, but her child, Bacchus survived. As a loving son, Bacchus honored his mother by placing a wreath of stars in the Heavens for her.