Volans Constellation: The Ultimate Guide

Volans 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 Volans is one of the faintest constellations. Most of its stars cannot be seen with the naked eye by northern observers, so it was necessary to wait for explorations to the southern hemisphere to be able to record its stars and boundaries.

Volans was one of twelve constellations named by cartographer Petrus Plancius from observations made by navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman in 1592.

The Volans constellation appears publicly for the first time on a celestial globe 35 centimeters in diameter (14 inches) published in 1597 in Amsterdam by Plancius and Jodocus Hondius.

In 1598. Plancius named the constellation Vliegendenvis (flying fish), and posteriorly John Herschel proposed reducing the name to a single word in 1844. In this way, it was accepted worldwide that the constellation's name was Volans.

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

Currently, the constellation Volans occupies an area of only 141 square degrees. It ranks 76th in tamaño among the 88 constellations in the night sky, making it one of the minor constellations.

Volans resides in the second quadrant of the Southern Hemisphere (SQ2) between latitudes 15° N and 90° S, which means that we can see the constellation in the night sky from all countries in the southern hemisphere of the earth and some countries of the northern hemisphere.

Volans' constellation is visible in America, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica.

Volans is not visible in regions above 15°N such as the USA, Canada, Europe, Russia, Greenland, Japan, Mexico, and Alaska.

The best month to visualize the constellation Volans is March, which is visible during spring in the northern hemisphere. While in the southern hemisphere it is visible during autumn and winter.

The constellation Volans is tiny and faint as it has no first or second magnitude stars, but it is near the second brightest star in the sky, Canopus.

The easiest way to locate the constellation Volans is to find the second brightest star in the sky, Canopus; from there, we draw a straight line towards the star Miaplacidus of the constellation Carina. The constellation Volans is located halfway between the two points.

The constellations bordering Volans are Carina, Pictor, Dorado, Mensa, and Chamaeleon.

In addition, Volans belongs to the family of constellations of Johann Bayer; these include Apus, Chamaeleon, Dorado, Grus, Hydrus, Indus, Musca, Pavo, Phoenix, and Tucana.

The constellation Volans officially contains 31 stars, of which 6 form the central figure of the constellation; these are Beta Volantis, Gamma Volantis, Zeta Volantis, Delta Volantis, Alpha Volantis, and Epsilon Volantis.

It is the brightest star in the constellation Volans with an apparent magnitude of +3.77; it is 108 light-years from Earth.

Beta Volantis is an orange giant of spectral type K2III1 or K1III with a surface temperature of 4540 K. Its luminosity is 41 times greater than that of the Sun, and its radius is 13 times greater than the solar radius.

It is a binary star with an apparent magnitude ranging from +3.60 to +3.80, its absolute magnitude being lower than Beta Volantis. It is located 142 light-years from the Solar System.

The system's two components are γ 1 Volantis (HD 55864), located further west, the less bright of the two with magnitude +5.68, and γ 2 Volantis (HD 55865), located further east and of magnitude +3.78.

Located at 738 light-years from Earth and with an apparent magnitude of +3.98, Delta Volantis is the fourth brightest star in the constellation Volans.

Delta Volantis is a luminous giant of spectral type F6 II with an approximate surface temperature of 6000 K. It shines with a luminosity equal to 2900 suns.

Volans 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 Volans, it has few deep-sky objects; it mainly contains Galxies; the most notable are:

It is a lenticular galaxy and an annular galaxy located about 300 million light-years away in the southern part of the constellation Volans. It is the most notable deep-sky object in the constellation.

The yellowish core was once the center of a typical spiral galaxy, and the ring surrounding its core is currently about 150,000 light-years across.

They are also known as Meathook Galaxy or Cobra and Mouse. They are galaxies that are in the process of colliding. It is about 50 million light-years away in the constellation Volans.

• Volans is a constellation located primarily in the southern hemisphere. Its name comes from Latin and represents a Flying Pez.
• Volans 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 Volans is located between latitudes 15° N and 90° S. The best month to observe the constellation is in March.
• The easiest way to locate the constellation Volans is to find the second brightest star in the sky, Canopus; from there, we draw a straight line, I would imagine, towards the star Miaplacidus of the Carina constellation. The constellation Volans is located halfway between the two points.
• The brightest star in the constellation Volans is Beta Volantis (β Vol /HD 71878/HR 3347), with an apparent magnitude of +3.77.
• The most notable deep sky body in the constellation Volans is the Lenticular Galaxy AM 0644-741.

1. https://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/volans-constellation/
2. http://www.seasky.org/constellations/constellation-volans.html
3. https://in-the-sky.org/data/constellation.php?id=89
4. https://www.britannica.com/place/Volans