Pavo (constellation)

Pavo
Constellation
Pavo
AbbreviationPav
GenitivePavonis
Pronunciation/ˈpv/, /ˈpɑːv/,
genitive /pəˈvnɪs/
Symbolismthe Peacock
Right ascension18h 10.4m to 21h 32.4m [1]
Declination−56° 35.4′ to −74° 58.8′[1]
QuadrantSQ4
Area378 sq. deg. (44th)
Main stars7
Bayer/Flamsteed
stars
24
Stars with planets6
Stars brighter than 3.00m1
Stars within 10.00 pc (32.62 ly)4
Brightest starα Pav (Peacock) (1.91m)
Messier objects0
Meteor showersDelta Pavonids[2]
Bordering
constellations
Octans
Apus
Ara
Telescopium
Indus
Visible at latitudes between +30° and −90°.
Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of August.

Pavo is a constellation in the southern sky whose name is Latin for 'peacock'. Pavo first appeared on a 35-cm (14 in) diameter celestial globe published in 1598 in Amsterdam by Petrus Plancius and Jodocus Hondius and was depicted in Johann Bayer's star atlas Uranometria of 1603, and was likely conceived by Plancius from the observations of Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman. French explorer and astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille gave its stars Bayer designations in 1756. The constellations Pavo, Grus, Phoenix and Tucana are collectively known as the "Southern Birds".

The constellation's brightest member, Alpha Pavonis, is also known as Peacock and appears as a 1.91-magnitude blue-white star, but is actually a spectroscopic binary. Delta Pavonis is a nearby Sun-like star some 19.9 light-years distant. Six of the star systems in Pavo have been found to host planets, including HD 181433 with a super-Earth, and HD 172555 with evidence of a major interplanetary collision in the past few thousand years. The constellation contains NGC 6752, the fourth-brightest globular cluster in the sky, and the spiral galaxy NGC 6744, which closely resembles the Milky Way but is twice as large. Pavo displays an annual meteor shower known as the Delta Pavonids, whose radiant is near the star δ Pav.[2]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference boundary was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b "Delta Pavonids". Meteor Showers On-line. Archived from the original on 2013-09-28. Retrieved 23 August 2013.

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