Zeta Reticuli: Distance to Earth
Download 3.31 Mb.
|
- Navigate this page:
- Contents
- [edit] History
- [edit] Interesting Facts
ReticulumFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search For the second stomach of a ruminant animal, see Reticulum (anatomy). For the organelle of the cell, see Endoplasmic reticulum.
Reticulum is a small, faint constellation in the southern sky. Its name is Latin for a small net, or reticle—a net of crosshairs at the focus of a telescope eyepiece that is used to measure star positions.[1] The constellation is best viewed between October and December, but cannot be seen from middle to northern latitudes.[2]
[edit] HistoryThis constellation was introduced by Isaac Habrecht II in his celestial globe in 1621, who named it Rhombus.[3] It was later renamed by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in the eighteenth century; during his stay at the Cape of Good Hope, he named the constellation le Réticule Rhomboide to commemorate the reticle in his telescope eyepiece.[1] It was later Latinized to Reticulum in his star catalogue Coelum Australe Stelliferum. In 1810, the stars of Reticulum were used by William Croswell to produce the constellation Marmor Sculptile, which represented the bust of Christopher Columbus, but this did not catch on among astronomers.[4] The constellation Reticulum became officially recognized during the First General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union in 1922. The boundary for this and other constellations was drawn up by Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte along arcs of right ascension and declination for epoch 1875. These were published in 1930 in the Delimination Scientifique des Constellations at the behest of the IAU.[5][6] [edit] Interesting FactsOnly two of the stars in this constellation are brighter than visual magnitude 5: Alpha (α) and Beta (β) reticuli. The reddish star R Reticuli is a Mira variable. This variable was discovered by C. Ragoonatha Chary at the Madras Observatory in India.[7] The binary star system Epsilon Reticuli consists of a spectral class K2IV star being orbited by a white dwarf. Based on parallax measurements, this system is located about 50 light years from the Sun. In 2000, a planetary companion was announced, orbiting the star ε Reticuli A.[8] Zeta Reticuli is a wide binary star system, with both members being similar to the Sun. It is located at a distance of about 39 light years. This system gained some notoriety in ufology when the alleged alien abductees Betty and Barney Hill named it as the home of their abductors. In 2005, a type 1a supernova was discovered in the spiral galaxy NGC 1559, located in the Reticulum constellation.[9] Directory: 2012 2012 -> The Case Against the nypd’s Quota-Driven ‘Broken Windows’ Policing What Is It? 2012 -> Annual InStructional unit plan 2012 -> University of Hawai‘i Maui College dental assisting program review october 21, 2013 2012 -> Committee on the rights of the child the rights of all children in the context of international migration 2012 -> Background on the Haitian Earthquake 2012 -> The Collected Wisdom of Science Olympiad Coaches 2012 -> Federal Communications Commission fcc 12-81 Before the Federal Communications Commission 2012 -> Aa and na members Dying from Tobacco 2012 -> [Baby Crying] 01: 04 [Ching Download 3.31 Mb. Share with your friends:
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
