Centaurus Constellation | Constellations In The Southern Hemisphere

CENTAURUS CONSTELLATION – In this topic, we are going to know and learn about the southern constellation Centaurus , the Centaur.

It is a constellation in the southern hemisphere. It also one of the largest constellations in the sky and represents the centaur, the half man, half horse creature in Greek mythology.

Various centaurs were said to represent the constellation, with the usual one being Chiron, who mentored the Greek heroes Hercules, Peleus, Achilles, Theseus and Perseus.

Chiron was the son of the Titan king Cronus and the sea nymph Philyra. The time god seduced the nymph, but two were surprised by Cronus’ wife Rhea. Cronus turned himself into a horse to evade being caught.

The Babylonians called the constellation the Bison-man (MUL.GUD.ALIM).

It houses two of the top ten brightest stars in the sky: Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri, as well as one of the brightest galaxies in the night sky Centaurus Athe globular cluster Omega Centauri. The famous Blue Planetary nebula, and the Boomerang Nebula.

It is the ninth of the largest constellations and occupies an area of about 1060 square degrees. It lies in SQ3, the third quadrant of the southern hemisphere.

Centaurus belongs to the Hercules family, along with Aquila, Ara, Corona Australis, Corvus, Crater, Crux, Cygnus, Hercules, Hydra, Lupus, Lyra, Ophiuchus, Sagitta, Scutum, Serpens, Sextans, Triangulum Australe, and Vulpecula.

Stars

Among the stars include: