Indus is a constellation in the southern sky first professionally surveyed by Europeans in the 1590s, namely Dutchmen, and mapped on a globe by Pieter Platevoet (Plancius) by early 1598 and thus included in Bayer's keynote, consolidated sky atlas of 1603. On average it is centred, that is to say its zenith, is over 25° south of the Tropic of Capricorn. South of the Tropic lie only four countries, the rest being parts of oceans and Antarctica and ten countries straddle the tropic but the bright right-angled triangle can be seen for most of the year from the Equator. It has a north-south elongated, complex scope and its other English direct translation of its name is sometimes seen in old writings, the Indian[3] as it is in other European languages.
Features
The constellation Indus as it can be seen by the naked eye.
Indus lacks stars of the top 100 in brightness viewed from the solar system (apparent magnitude). Two of its stars rank of third magnitude and three of fourth magnitude.
Alpha Indi, its brightest, is an orange giant of magnitude 3.1, 101 light-years away. Beta Indi is an orange giant of magnitude 3.7, 600 light-years distant. Delta Indi is a white star of magnitude 4.4, 185 light-years from Earth. The three form a near-perfect right-angled triangle, such that Beta marks the right angle and is in the south-east.
Epsilon Indi is one of the closest stars to Earth, approximately 11.8 light years away. It is an orange dwarf of magnitude 4.7, meaning that the yellow dwarf Sun is slightly hotter and larger.[4] The system has been discovered to contain a pair of binary brown dwarfs, and has long been a prime candidate in SETI studies.[5][6] This star has the third-highest proper motion of all visible to the unaided eye, as ranks behind Groombridge 1830 and 61 Cygni, and the ninth-highest overall. This will move the star into Tucana around 2640. It figures directly between Alpha and Beta.
Indus is home to one bright binary star. Theta Indi is a binary star divisible in small amateur telescopes, 97 light-years from Earth. Its primary is a white star of magnitude 4.5 and its secondary is a white star of magnitude 7.0.[4] It figures close to the hyponeuse of the right-angled triangle of Alpha, Beta and Delta, the three brightest stars of Indus.
T Indi is the only bright variable star in Indus. It is a semi-regular, deeply coloured red giant with a period of 11 months, 1900 light-years away. Its minimum magnitude is 7 and its maximum: 5.[4]
Galaxies include NGC 7090 and NGC 7049.
All Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN) in 2015 detected a superluminous supernova, named ASASSN-15lh (also designated SN 2015L[7]). Based on the study conducted by Subo Dong and team from the Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics (KIAA) at Peking University, it was approximately doubly luminous to any supernova detected, and at peak was almost 50 times more intrinsically luminous than the Milky Way. Its distance: approximately 3.82 gigalight-years, denoting an age approximately half that of the universe.[8]
History
See also: Dutch celestial cartography in the Age of Discovery and Dutch systematic mapping of the far southern sky
Indus (top middle) in an extract from Johann Bayer's Uranometria, its first appearance in a celestial atlas.
The constellation was created by Petrus Plancius who made a fairly large celestial globe from the observations of Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman.[4] The first depiction of this constellation in a celestial atlas followed in Johann Bayer's Uranometria of 1603.[9][10] Plancius portrayed the figure as a nude male with three arrows in one hand and one in the other, as a native, lacking quiver and bow.[11] It is among the twelve constellations introduced by Keyser and de Houtman, which first appeared on in 1598.
See also
Dutch celestial cartography in the Age of Exploration (Early systematic mapping of the far southern sky, c. 1595–1599)
Constellations created and listed by Dutch celestial cartographers
IAU-recognized constellations
References
https://books.google.com/
Anonymous (February 3, 2007). "Meteor Showers". American Meteor Society. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
https://books.google.com/
Ridpath & Tirion 2001, pp. 162-163.
Burnham, Robert; Luft, Herbert A. (1978). Burnham's Celestial Handbook: An Observer's Guide to the Universe Beyond the Solar System. Courier Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-23568-8.
Lawton, A. T. (1975). "CETI from Copernicus". Spaceflight. 17: 328–330. Bibcode:1975SpFl...17..328L.
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams CBET 4120
Carnegie Institution for Science (January 14, 2016). "Most-luminous supernova ever discovered". phys.org. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
Bakich, Michael E. (1995). The Cambridge Guide to the Constellations. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-44921-9.
Sawyer Hogg, Helen (1951). "Out of Old Books (Pieter Dircksz Keijser, Delineator of the Southern Constellations)". Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. 45: 215. Bibcode:1951JRASC..45..215S.
Allen, Richard Hinckley (1963). Star Names, Their Lore and Meaning. New York: Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-21079-0.
Sources
Ridpath, Ian; Tirion, Wil (2001), Stars and Planets Guide, Princeton University Press, ISBN 0-691-08913-2
Ian Ridpath and Wil Tirion (2007). Stars and Planets Guide, Collins, London. ISBN 978-0-00-725120-9. Princeton University Press, Princeton. ISBN 978-0-691-13556-4.
External links
The Deep Photographic Guide to the Constellations: Indus
The clickable Indus
Starry Night Photography: Indus Constellation
Star Tales–Indus
Media related to Indus (constellation) at Wikimedia Commons
Authority control Edit this at Wikidata
MA: 9836676
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Constellation of Indus
List of stars in Indus Indus in Chinese astronomy
Stars
Bayer
α (the Persian) β γ δ ε ζ η θ ι κ2 μ ν ο π ρ
Variable
T V RS BC BD BG (κ1) BS CK
HR
7992 8027 8114 8152 8177 8211 8233 8249 8269 8271 8286 8303 8331 8352 8381 8527 8547 8672 8769 8794 8809 8855
HD
199642 200887 206429 208184 218497
Other
ASASSN-V J213939.3-702817.4 GJ 1279 RX J2115-5840 WASP-46 WASP-88
Exoplanets
LHS 3844 b Rho Indi b
Galaxies
NGC
6918 6935 6937 6942 6948 6970 6982 6984 6987 6990 7002 7004 7007 7014 7022 7029 7038 7038A 7041 7041B 7049 7061 7064 7083 7090 7096 7106 7123 7124 7125 7126 7140 7151 7155 7168 7179 7191 7192 7196 7199 7200 7205A 7216 7633 7655
Other
ESO 146-5 ESO 235-58 IC 5063 IC 5152
Galaxy clusters
Abell 3742 SPT-CL J2106-5844
Astronomical events
ASASSN-15lh GRB 060614
Category Category
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The 88 modern constellations
Andromeda Antlia Apus Aquarius Aquila Ara Aries Auriga Boötes Caelum Camelopardalis Cancer Canes Venatici Canis Major Canis Minor Capricornus Carina Cassiopeia Centaurus Cepheus Cetus Chamaeleon Circinus Columba Coma Berenices Corona Australis Corona Borealis Corvus Crater Crux Cygnus Delphinus Dorado Draco Equuleus Eridanus Fornax Gemini Grus Hercules Horologium Hydra Hydrus Indus Lacerta Leo Leo Minor Lepus Libra Lupus Lynx Lyra Mensa Microscopium Monoceros Musca Norma Octans Ophiuchus Orion Pavo Pegasus Perseus Phoenix Pictor Pisces Piscis Austrinus Puppis Pyxis Reticulum Sagitta Sagittarius Scorpius Sculptor Scutum Serpens Sextans Taurus Telescopium Triangulum Triangulum Australe Tucana Ursa Major Ursa Minor Vela Virgo Volans Vulpecula
Lists of constellations
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Constellation history
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The 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy after 150 AD
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The 41 additional constellations added in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries
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Obsolete constellations (including Ptolemy's Argo Navis)
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Constellations created and listed by Dutch explorers and celestial cartographers in the Age of Discovery
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Early modern Netherlandish cartography, geography and cosmography (c. 16th–18th centuries)
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