Name a Star in the Musca Constellation

Musca, also known as the Fly, is a small constellation located in the southern hemisphere. It was created by the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius in the 16th century, and is one of the smaller constellations in the sky. It was included Johann Bayer’s 1603 star atlas Uranometria.This title, the southern fly, was substituted by Lacaille in 1752 for Bayer’s Bee (Apis). Halley had catalogued it earlier in 1679 as Musca Apis. The latter prevailed.  

Johanne Von Schiller, in 1799, combined Apus Chamaeleon and Musca and called it “Mother of Eve.” This seems rather strange since we all know that Eve was the only woman derived from man, sans mother. This constellation held greater significance to people in the southern hemisphere. In Australia there were several interpretations of the constellation, including the representation of ceremonial dress or a boomerang. Alpha and Beta Muscae (with two stars in Crux) were called the “Ornate Hawk-Eagle’s double flutes” by Brazil’s Kalapalo people. 

The Musca constellation is bordered by the southern constellations Apus, Carina, Centaurus, Chamaeleon, Circinus and Crux.  It can be viewed from the Earth’s equatorial countries to the south pole. The brightest star in Musca is “Alpha Muscae”, which has a magnitude of 2.69. It is a blue-white subgiant or dwarf star located approximately 315 light-years from Earth.   

Another interesting “star” is actually a pair of stars called “Beta Muscae”. These blue-White dwarf stars orbit each other every 194 years. Together, they are the second brightest object in the constellation with a magnitude of 3.5. In addition to these stars, Musca also contains several interesting deep-sky objects. One of these objects is NGC 5189, a planetary nebula discovered by James Dunlop in 1826. This S shaped nebula has a magnitude of 8.2 and can be viewed using a small telescope in the far southern sky. A smaller constellation, MyCn 18, the “Hourglass Nebula” was discovered in the Musca constellation by American Astronomers Annie Jump Cannon and Margaret W Mayall. Cannon and Mayall were revered for their work in the field of astronomy, including research for the Henry Draper Catalog published between 1918 and1924.  

For those looking for a unique and meaningful gift, the International Star Registry offers the opportunity to name a star in honor of a special occasion. As a 35th birthday gift idea, you could buy a star gift for a loved one and have their name recorded for eternity.

Symbol : Mus  

Right Ascension : 12:30  

Declination : -69  

Diameter (°) : 6  

Area (square °) : 138  

Opposition : Mar 29  

Size Rank : 77th  

Brightness Rank : 49th  

Genitive : Muscae

In conclusion, Musca is a small but fascinating constellation with a rich history. It is one of the smallest constellations and, as such, is named after a small creature, the fly.