Antlia Constellation: The Ultimate Guide

Although theoretically, the Antlia constellation was visible to astronomers of classical Greece, its stars were too faint to be included in any constellation of antiquity.

There is no mythological legend associated with Antlia because the astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille interrupted the tradition of giving mythological names to constellations; instead, he chose to give the constellations names of scientific instruments.

In 1751 Lacaille had observed and cataloged almost 10,000 stars from the southern hemisphere during his two-year stay at the Cape of Good Hope.

In this way, he cataloged fourteen new constellations for the unexplored regions of the southern sky that were not visible from Europe.

One such constellation was given the name "Antlia Pneumatica" in her letter of 1763. Later, John Hershel proposed to reduce the name to a single word, "Antlia," which was universally accepted.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) adopted it as one of the eighty-eight modern constellations.

Since it was listed as part of the 88 constellations of the sky, Antlia has not undergone configurations at its borders and remains one of the most minor and faintest constellations occupying the 62nd place, covering an area of 238.9 square degrees (0.579%) of the night sky.

Antlia resides in the second quadrant of the Southern Hemisphere (SQ2) at latitudes between 45° N and 90° S, which means that we can see the constellation in the night sky from all countries of the southern hemisphere of the earth, and some countries of the northern hemisphere.

Antlia is visible in the USA, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Antarctica.

Antlia is not visible in areas above 45° N latitude, such as Germany, Austria, Nordic countries, Canada and Russia.

Antlia is a constellation that can be seen most of the year in the southern hemisphere; however, April is the best month to visualize it.

In the northern hemisphere, the constellation Antlia is visible only during winter, While in the southern hemisphere, it is visible during spring and early summer.

Antlia is close to the celestial equator, so you will have to direct your gaze to the south if you are in the northern hemisphere.

The constellation Antlia is very dim, so you can lean on the constellation Hydra since both constellations are very close to each other.

The easiest way to locate the constellation Ara is by drawing an imaginary straight line from the constellation Vela to the constellation Hydra; in the middle of the road between the two, you will find the constellation Antlia.

The constellations bordering Antlia are Hydra, Pyxis, Vela, and Centaurus.

In addition, Antlia belongs to the Lacaille family of constellations; these include Caelum, Circinus, Fornax, Horologium, Mensa, Microscopium, Norma, Octans, Pictor, Reticulum, Sculptor, and Telescopium.

The constellation Antlia officially contains 42 stars, of which 4 form the central figure of the constellation; these are Alpha Antilae, Epsilon Antilae, Iota Antilae, and Theta Antilae.

With an apparent magnitude of +4.48, Alpha Antilae is the brightest star in the constellation Antlia. It is 366 light-years away from the Solar System.

Alpha Antliae is an orange giant of spectral type K4III with a surface temperature between 3990 and 4100 K.

It is the second brightest star in Antlia; it is a binary star of magnitude 5.56; both are 1100 light-years away from the Sun.

Epsilon Antliae is an orange giant star 69 times larger than the Sun that has evolved to be of spectral type K3 IIIa.

Antlia is also home to several deep-sky objects. Deep-sky objects often mean star clusters, nebulae (interstellar cloud bodies), or galaxies.

In the case of Antlia, it is rich in galaxies and star clusters. Still, being so small, it is one of the constellations with the least diversity of deep-sky bodies.

The galaxy NGC 2997 is the most notable deep-sky body in the constellation Antlia. But, although it has a very bright stellar core, it is complicated to observe with a small telescope since it is too dim.

CCD images of this galaxy on October 24, 2003, revealed supernova SN 2003jg within its regions.

• Antlia Star Cluster: Also known as Abell S0636, it is a galaxy cluster located in the Hydra-Centaurus Supercluster.
• NGC 3268 and NGC 3258 are giant elliptical galaxies found in the constellation Antlia.
• Antlia dwarf: It is an elliptical dwarf galaxy, one of the most distant members of the Local Group.

• Antlia is a constellation located primarily in the southern hemisphere. The constellation's name comes from Latin and means "Bomb," which refers to the pneumatic pump invented by the French physicist Denis Papin in the seventeenth century.
• The constellation Antlia lies between latitudes 45° N and 90° S. The best month to observe the constellation is in April.
• The easiest way to locate the constellation Ara is to draw an imaginary straight line from the constellation Vela to the constellation Hydra; in the middle of the road between the two, you will find the constellation Antlia.
• The brightest star in the constellation Antlia is Alpha Antliae (α Ant / HD 90610 / HR 4104), with an apparent magnitude of +4.48.
• The most notable deep sky body in the constellation Antlia is the spiral galaxy NGC 2997.

1. https://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/antlia-constellation/
2. http://www.seasky.org/constellations/constellation-antlia.html
3. https://www.universeguide.com/constellation/antlia
4. https://theplanets.org/constellations/antlia-constellation/