Constellation Wolf: where is the list of stars

Billions of small planets that form unified systems, and rivet the eyes of inquisitive eyes. The first mention of the constellation of the Wolf is a long time ago. It has a fairly ancient history and was familiar to the Phoenicians and Greeks, and the Sumerians referred to it as the "Beast of Death."

As part of the Wolf identified a number of very interesting objects, but they can all be observed only with the use of a powerful telescope.

Discovery and history

The Greek astronomer of antiquity Ptolemy introduced the constellation Wolf into the Almagest list under the name "beast". The stars of this cluster were once part of the constellation Centauri. The astronomer of ancient Greece Hipparchus separated the constellation of the Wolf from the Centaurus and named it the Beast (Therion). Although this was not considered a genuine work, until the work of Ptolemy was translated into Latin. In it, the scientist finally identified the constellation of the Wolf.
The Centauri stars in ancient mythical legends were depicted in the form of animals pinned to the spear of a centaur.
This same creature with animals on a spear appears in the constellation Ara (in translation "altar"). In ancient Babylon, the Wolf was called Yp-ldim ("wild dog"). The area of the constellation is 333.7 square degrees. By its size, the Wolf occupies only 46th place out of 88 in the sky.

The brightest stars in the constellation of the Wolf form a rather distorted quadrangle. It takes a lot of imagination and imagination to find out the wolf in the figure formed by the stars, which is depicted on old stellar maps.

Location and observation

The wolf is a constellation of the Southern Hemisphere, so it can be seen by an observer who is in this region of the planet. Its closest neighbors are the Circus, Nugolnik, Hydra and Libra. In the sky, the constellation of the Wolf borders the Centaurus and Scorpio. To find it in the firmament, it is necessary to focus on the constellation of Centaurus and Libra. The constellation of the Wolf is easily detected to the left of the first star cluster and to the south of the second one. The congestion is quite large. Its list of stars includes 108 heavenly bodies. In good, clear weather, you can see about 70 stars.

At what time is it better to watch the constellation of the Wolf? A good time for observations is in May. It is clearly visible to the south of the 35th parallel.

Mythology of the constellation Wolf

Myths and legends tell about constellations and help us to interpret the meaning of their names. In the mythology associated with the constellation of the Wolf, it is mentioned that people of the Copper Age did not breed cattle, did not cultivate the land and did not grow trees. The inhabitants only destroyed each other in wars, mired in blood and crimes. They did not respect the gods and did not respect them. For this Thunderer Zeus disliked the people and decided to punish them.

Wrath of the gods

First of all, his rage fell upon Archangel Bishop Lycaon, who ruled in Lycasur. Zeus under the guise of an ordinary mortal descended into the kingdom of Lycasura. Before this, he sent a sign to the townspeople, and all met the Thunderer, giving proper honors. The only one who did not kneel before Zeus was Lycaon. The pride of the king overshadowed his mind, and then he decided to check whether Zeus is a god. The ruler hacked one of his slaves, roasted one of the body parts, and cooked the second one and presented it to Zeus. Lycaon suggested that if the stranger is a god, then he must know that the food was made from human meat, and will not eat it. Zeus was terribly angry. In the hands of the thunderer lightning flashed and turned into a pile of ashes the palace of the lord. The very Lycaon Zeus drew into the wolf and left in the sky in the form of a constellation, the other for edification.

List of stars in the constellation Wolf

In the constellation of the Wolf there are no stars of the first magnitude. Nevertheless, there are second and third luminaries - about 30 of them. The brightest in the constellation is Alfa Volka, the blue giant. It has a star magnitude of 2.3 m. Its other name is Beta Andromeda. The light refers to the closest star cluster relative to the solar system, namely the Centaurus-Scorpio.

The Chinese know this star under the name Yang Moon (southern gate). And the Arabs refer to Alfa Wolf as "Guiding Star" or "Star of Destiny". This historical name was received by the luminary in ancient times from the Arabs, but in astronomy it is used quite rarely. From the Earth the star is located quite far, at a distance of about 550 light years.

Star Beta in the constellation Wolf - a blue giant, located from the Earth at a distance of 524 light years. In China, it is known as Ke Kvan ("cavalryman").

Gamma in the constellation is a double star, in tandem with another blue giant. The Wolf Delta is a white-blue subgiant, also qualifies as a Beta Andromeda variable.

The most visible objects

In the constellation there are several nebulae and star clusters. In the 19th century, globular clusters of NGC 5986 and NGC 5824 were discovered by James Dunlop. Near NGC 5986 is the IC 228 B nebula. This cloud blocking cloud consists of gas and dust.

The planetary nebula NGC 5882 can be found in the center of the constellation Wolf. Along with this, not far from the center is a rather wide, open cluster NGC 5822. It includes more than a hundred star formations, which are clearly visible in modern telescopes.

To the west of the Wolf there is a pair of spiral galaxies and a planetary ring nebula - IC 4406. It is noteworthy that star formation is due to the fact that it contains a large number of hot, atypical Wolf-Rayet stars. This is a fairly rare phenomenon in space.

Interesting fact

The constellation of the Wolf is interesting because it was in it that a supernova burst out . This event dates back to 1006 year of our era. It was located at a distance of 7,200 light-years from the Sun. The star was huge and radiated a bright light, and also 2-3 times the size of the disk of Venus. In many ancient sources there is a description of the birth of a supernova, which was possible to observe in daylight.

Constellations - the legacy of the past

Studying the starry sky is an enjoyable and hypnotizing activity. Most likely, the desire and the desire to learn new inspired the person to study and observe the starry sky. Not understanding the true nature of the appearance of the stars, the ancients composed legends about the heavenly bodies and united them into constellation groups, calling the names of gods, kings, animals and objects.