Columba (constellation) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Columba

Constellation
List of stars in Columba
Abbreviation	Col
Genitive	Columbae
Pronunciation	genitive
Symbolism	the dove
Right ascension	05h 03m 53.8665s–06h 39m 36.9263s
Declination	-27.0772038°–-43.1116486°
Area	270 sq. deg. (54th)
Main stars	5
Bayer/Flamsteed stars	18
Stars with planets	1
Stars brighter than 3.00m	1
Stars within 10.00 pc (32.62 ly)	0
Brightest star	α Col (Phact) (2.65m)
Messier objects	0
Meteor showers	None
Bordering constellations	Lepus Caelum Pictor Puppis Canis Major
Visible at latitudes between +45° and −90°. Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of February.

Columba is a small, faint constellation created in the late sixteenth century. Its name is Latin for dove. It is located just south of Canis Major and Lepus.

History

The constellation Columba as it can be seen by the naked eye

The constellation seen as "Columba Noachi" in Urania's Mirror (1825)

Columba was created by Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius in 1592 in order to differentiate the 'unformed stars' of the large constellation Canis Major.

Plancius originally named the constellation Columba Noachi ("Noah's Dove"), referring to the dove that gave Noah the information that the Great Flood was receding. This name is found on early 17th-century celestial globes and star atlases. Columba may also represent the dove released by Jason and the Argonauts at the Black Sea's mouth; it helped them navigate the dangerous Symplegades.

See also

In Spanish: Columba (constelación) para niños