Post by glactus on Feb 17, 2008 9:03:56 GMT
Corona Australis was one of Ptolemy's original 48 constellations. The mythology concerning this constellation is somewhat of a mystery, but it is believed to refer to the god Bacchus who placed this constellation in the sky as a wreath honoring his mother Semele. It also honors the five time victory of Corinna over Pindar in their poetical contest. Others believe this to represent the crown of Sagittarius.In ancient times, this constellation was drawn as a bunch of arrows emanating from the hand of the Centaur.
Stars and other objects
The double gamma CrA (b52) consists of a tight pair of F8 main sequence stars of 5th mag. The two stars revolve each other with a period of 120 years. To split this pair a telescope with an aperture of at least 100 mm and a high magnification may be needed.
Much easier to observe is kappa CrA. The A0 giant of 6.32 mag and it companion, a B9 main sequence star of 5.65 mag. They are a wide pair, which can easily be separated with a small scope.
The white main sequence star lambda CrA (spectral type A2Vn) shows in small scopes a 9th magnitude companion.
The globular cluster NGC 6541
The globular cluster NGC6541 is a nice object for small scopes and binoculars. It is of 6.3 magnitude and lies in a distance of estimated 14,000 light years. Its closeness to the Galactic Meridian, mean that it lies in the region of the Galaxy's core.
credits:
Map: Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corona_Australishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corona_Australis
text: seds org
ftp.seds.org/Maps/Stars_en/Fig/coronaaustr.html
image: NGC 6541
Frog rock observatory
my.hwy.com.au/~sjquirk/images/gstar/ngc6541.html