Telescopium Constellation: The Ultimate Guide

Telescopium is classified as one of the 88 modern constellations, meaning that it has no associated history in ancient Western cultures because it was not visible in those regions.

It is known that Telescopium is one of the faintest constellations and that most of its stars cannot be seen with the naked eye, so it was necessary to wait for telescopes to be invented to see it.

Telescopium was introduced in 1751-1752 by astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille under the French name Le Telescope, which he represented with the image of an aerial telescope.

In the eighteenth century, Lacaille observed and cataloged 10,000 stars from the southern sky during his two-year stay at the Cape of Good Hope.

Lacaille devised fourteen constellations in the unexplored regions of the celestial southern hemisphere that are not visible from Europe and gave them the names of scientific instruments representing the Enlightenment.

In 1763 Lacaille Latinized the name of the constellation we know today, Telescopium.

In 1922 the International Astronomical Association added the constellation Telescopium to the 88 official night sky constellations. Since then, it has not undergone significant modifications in its boundaries.

Currently, the Telescopium covers 252 square degrees of the sky. Rank 57th in size among the 88 constellations in the night sky.

Telescopium resides in the fourth quadrant of the Southern Hemisphere (SQ4) between latitudes 40° 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.

The constellation Telescopium is visible in the Americas, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica.

Telescopium is not visible in regions above 40° N, such as Canada, most of Europe, Russia, Greenland, and Alaska.

The best month to visualize the constellation Telescopium is August, visible in the northern hemisphere during the summer. While in the southern hemisphere, it is visible during winter.

The constellation Telescopium is very small, faint, and difficult to see with the naked eye since it does not have stars of first or second magnitude. Fortunately, it is near two constellations with very bright stars, Sagittarius and Scorpius.

The easiest way to locate the constellation Telescopium is by drawing an imaginary straight line between Corona Australis and the constellation Ara. The constellation Telescopium is located halfway between the two.

The constellations bordering Telescopium are Ara, Corona Australis, Indus, Microscopium (corner), Pavo and Sagittarius.

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

The constellation Telescopium officially contains 57 stars, of which 6 form the central figure of the constellation; these are Alpha Telescopii, Zeta Telescopii, Epsilon Telescopii, Lambda Telescopii, Xi Telescopii, and Iota Telescopii.

It is the brightest star in the constellation Telescopium, with an apparent magnitude of +3.49. It is 249 light-years away from the Solar System.

Alpha Telescopii is a hot blue star of spectral type B3IV with a temperature of 18,400 K. Although classified as a subgiant star; its luminosity is 900 times greater than that of the Sun. Its mass is around six solar masses.

With an apparent magnitude of +4.13, it is the second brightest star in the Telescopium constellation; it is 127 light-years away from the Solar System.

Zeta Telescopii is an orange giant of spectral type K1III-IV with a surface temperature of 4720 K. Its bolometric luminosity is 37 times greater than the Sun. Its radius is nine times larger than the solar radius.

• Delta1 Telescopii (δ1 Tel) 
• Eta Telescopii (η Tel / HD 181296 / HR 7329)
• Mu Telescopii (μ Tel)
• Rho Telescopii (ρ Tel)
• QV Telescopii (QV Tel) (also, HR 6819)

Telescopium 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 Telescopium, because it is a small constellation that only has galaxies, some of the most notable are:

It is a lenticular galaxy located in the constellation Telescopium. It is one of the most unusual deep-sky objects in the constellation.

Unlike most lenticular galaxies, which mostly lack gas and dust, NGC 6861 exhibits a thick ring of darkening dust around the core where the star is forming.

It is a globular cluster in the constellation Telescopium near Theta Arae and is 45000 light-years away.

It is a type I Oosterhoff cluster and contains at least 69 variable stars, most of which are RR Lyrae variables.

• Telescopium is a constellation located primarily in the southern hemisphere. Its Latin name means "Telescope," referring to the most famous astronomical instrument used by astronomers to look at the stars.
• Telescopium is one of the 88 modern constellations, so its name is not derived from a myth, history, or ancient legend like the most famous constellations.
• The constellation Telescopium is located between 40° N and 90° S. The best month to observe the constellation is August.
• The easiest way to locate the constellation Telescopium is by drawing a straight line you would imagine from the constellation Corona Australis and the constellation Ara. The constellation Telescopium is located halfway between the two.
• The brightest star in the constellation Telescopium is Alpha Telescopii (α Tel/HD 169467/HR 6897), with an apparent magnitude of +3.49.
• The most notable deep sky body in the constellation Telescopium is the galaxy NGC 6868.

1. https://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/telescopium-constellation/
2. http://www.seasky.org/constellations/constellation-telescopium.html
3. https://theskylive.c om/sky/constellations/telescopium-constellation
4. https://www.universeguide.com/constellation/telescopium