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# Phoenix (constellation) | ||
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**Phoenix** is a minor [constellation](constellation "wikilink") in the | ||
[southern sky](southern_sky "wikilink"). Named after the mythical | ||
[phoenix](Phoenix_(mythology) "wikilink"), it was first depicted on a | ||
celestial atlas by [Johann Bayer](Johann_Bayer "wikilink") in his 1603 | ||
*[Uranometria](Uranometria "wikilink")*. The French explorer and | ||
astronomer [Nicolas Louis de | ||
Lacaille](Nicolas_Louis_de_Lacaille "wikilink") charted the brighter | ||
stars and gave their [Bayer designations](Bayer_designation "wikilink") | ||
in 1756. The constellation stretches from roughly −39 degrees to −57 degrees | ||
[declination](declination "wikilink"), and from 23.5h to 2.5h of [right | ||
ascension](right_ascension "wikilink"). The constellations Phoenix, | ||
[Grus](Grus_(constellation) "wikilink"), | ||
[Pavo](Pavo_(constellation) "wikilink") and [Tucana](Tucana "wikilink"), | ||
are known as the Southern Birds. | ||
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The brightest star, [Alpha Phoenicis](Alpha_Phoenicis "wikilink"), is | ||
named Ankaa, an [Arabic](Arabic "wikilink") word meaning 'the Phoenix'. | ||
It is an orange giant of apparent magnitude 2.4. Next is [Beta | ||
Phoenicis](Beta_Phoenicis "wikilink"), actually a | ||
[binary](Binary_star "wikilink") system composed of two yellow giants | ||
with a combined apparent magnitude of 3.3. [Nu | ||
Phoenicis](Nu_Phoenicis "wikilink") has a dust disk, while the | ||
constellation has ten star systems with known planets and the recently | ||
discovered [galaxy clusters](galaxy_cluster "wikilink") [El | ||
Gordo](El_Gordo_(galaxy_cluster) "wikilink") and the [Phoenix | ||
Cluster](Phoenix_Cluster "wikilink")—located 7.2 and 5.7 billion light | ||
years away respectively, two of the largest objects in the [visible | ||
universe](visible_universe "wikilink"). Phoenix is the | ||
[radiant](radiant_(meteor_shower) "wikilink") of two annual [meteor | ||
showers](meteor_shower "wikilink"): the | ||
[Phoenicids](Phoenicids "wikilink") in December, and the July | ||
Phoenicids. | ||
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## History | ||
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Phoenix was the largest of the 12 constellations established by [Petrus | ||
Plancius](Petrus_Plancius "wikilink") from the observations of [Pieter | ||
Dirkszoon Keyser](Pieter_Dirkszoon_Keyser "wikilink") and [Frederick de | ||
Houtman](Frederick_de_Houtman "wikilink"). It first appeared on a 35cm | ||
diameter celestial globe published in 1597 (or 1598) in Amsterdam by | ||
Plancius with [Jodocus Hondius](Jodocus_Hondius "wikilink"). The first | ||
depiction of this constellation in a celestial atlas was in [Johann | ||
Bayer](Johann_Bayer "wikilink")'s | ||
*[Uranometria](Uranometria "wikilink")* of 1603. De Houtman included | ||
it in his southern star catalog the same year under the Dutch name *Den | ||
voghel Fenicx*, "The Bird Phoenix", symbolising the | ||
[phoenix](Phoenix_(mythology) "wikilink") of classical mythology. One | ||
name of the brightest star [Alpha | ||
Phoenicis](Alpha_Phoenicis "wikilink")—Ankaa—is derived from the Arabic: | ||
العنقاء, romanized: al-‘anqā’, lit. 'the phoenix', and | ||
was coined sometime after 1800 in relation to the constellation. | ||
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Celestial historian Richard Allen noted that unlike the other | ||
constellations introduced by Plancius and [La | ||
Caille](La_Caille "wikilink"), Phoenix has actual precedent in ancient | ||
astronomy, as the Arabs saw this formation as representing young | ||
ostriches, *Al Ri'āl*, or as a griffin or eagle. In addition, the | ||
same group of stars was sometimes imagined by the Arabs as a boat, *Al | ||
Zaurak*, on the nearby river Eridanus. He observed, "the introduction | ||
of a Phoenix into modern astronomy was, in a measure, by adoption rather | ||
than by invention." | ||
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The Chinese incorporated Phoenix's brightest star, Ankaa (Alpha | ||
Phoenicis), and stars from the adjacent constellation | ||
[Sculptor](Sculptor_(constellation) "wikilink") to depict *Bakui*, a net | ||
for catching birds. Phoenix and the neighbouring constellation of | ||
[Grus](Grus_(constellation) "wikilink") together were seen by [Julius | ||
Schiller](Julius_Schiller "wikilink") as portraying | ||
[Aaron](Aaron "wikilink") the High Priest. These two constellations, | ||
along with nearby [Pavo](Pavo_(constellation) "wikilink") and | ||
[Tucana](Tucana "wikilink"), are called the Southern Birds. | ||
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## Characteristics | ||
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Phoenix is a small constellation bordered by [Fornax](Fornax "wikilink") | ||
and Sculptor to the north, Grus to the west, Tucana to the south, | ||
touching on the corner of [Hydrus](Hydrus "wikilink") to the south, and | ||
[Eridanus](Eridanus_(constellation) "wikilink") to the east and | ||
southeast. The bright star [Achernar](Achernar "wikilink") is | ||
nearby. The three-letter abbreviation for the constellation, as | ||
adopted by the [International Astronomical | ||
Union](International_Astronomical_Union "wikilink") in 1922, is | ||
"Phe". The official constellation boundaries, as set by Belgian | ||
astronomer [Eugène Delporte](Eugène_Joseph_Delporte "wikilink") in 1930, | ||
are defined by a polygon of 10 segments. In the [equatorial coordinate | ||
system](equatorial_coordinate_system "wikilink"), the [right | ||
ascension](right_ascension "wikilink") coordinates of these borders lie | ||
between 23<sup>h</sup> 26.5<sup>m</sup> and 02<sup>h</sup> 25.0<sup>m</sup>, | ||
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while the [declination](declination "wikilink") | ||
coordinates are between −39.31° and −57.84°. This means it remains | ||
below the horizon to anyone living north of the [40th | ||
parallel](40th_parallel_north "wikilink") in the [Northern | ||
Hemisphere](Northern_Hemisphere "wikilink"), and remains low in the sky | ||
for anyone living north of the [equator](equator "wikilink"). It is most | ||
visible from locations such as Australia and South Africa during late | ||
[Southern Hemisphere](Southern_Hemisphere "wikilink") spring. Most | ||
of the constellation lies within, and can be located by, forming a | ||
triangle of the bright stars Achernar, [Fomalhaut](Fomalhaut "wikilink") | ||
and [Beta Ceti](Beta_Ceti "wikilink")—Ankaa lies roughly in the centre | ||
of this. | ||
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## Features | ||
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### Stars | ||
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A curved line of stars comprising Alpha, | ||
[Kappa](Kappa_Phoenicis "wikilink"), [Mu](Mu_Phoenicis "wikilink"), | ||
[Beta](Beta_Phoenicis "wikilink"), [Nu](Nu_Phoenicis "wikilink") and | ||
[Gamma Phoenicis](Gamma_Phoenicis "wikilink") was seen as a boat by the | ||
ancient Arabs. French explorer and astronomer [Nicolas Louis de | ||
Lacaille](Nicolas_Louis_de_Lacaille "wikilink") charted and designated | ||
27 stars with the [Bayer designations](Bayer_designation "wikilink") | ||
Alpha through to Omega in 1756. Of these, he labelled two stars close | ||
together Lambda, and assigned Omicron, Psi and Omega to three stars, | ||
which subsequent astronomers such as [Benjamin | ||
Gould](Benjamin_Apthorp_Gould "wikilink") felt were too dim to warrant | ||
their letters. A different star was subsequently labelled Psi Phoenicis, | ||
while the other two designations fell out of use. | ||
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Ankaa is the brightest star in the constellation. It is an orange giant | ||
of [apparent visual magnitude](apparent_visual_magnitude "wikilink") | ||
2.37 and [spectral type](Stellar_classification "wikilink") | ||
K0.5IIIb, 77 light years distant from Earth and orbited by a | ||
secondary object about which little is known. Lying close by Ankaa | ||
is [Kappa Phoenicis](Kappa_Phoenicis "wikilink"), a [main | ||
sequence](main_sequence "wikilink") star of spectral type A5IVn and | ||
apparent magnitude 3.90. Located centrally in the asterism, | ||
[Beta Phoenicis](Beta_Phoenicis "wikilink") is the second brightest star | ||
in the constellation and another [binary star](binary_star "wikilink"). | ||
Together the stars, both yellow giants of spectral type G8, shine with | ||
an apparent magnitude of 3.31, though the components are of individual | ||
apparent magnitudes of 4.0 and 4.1 and orbit each other every 168 | ||
years. [Zeta Phoenicis](Zeta_Phoenicis "wikilink") or *Wurren* | ||
is an [Algol](Algol_variable "wikilink")-type [eclipsing | ||
binary](Binary_star#Eclipsing_binaries "wikilink"), with an [apparent | ||
magnitude](apparent_magnitude "wikilink") fluctuating between 3.9 and | ||
4.4 with a period of around 1.7 days (40 hours); its dimming results | ||
from the component two blue-white B-type stars, which orbit and block | ||
out each other from Earth. The two stars are 0.05 AU from each other, | ||
while a third star is around 600 AU away from the pair, and has an | ||
orbital period exceeding 5000 years. The system is around 300 light | ||
years distant. In 1976, researchers Clausen, Gyldenkerne, and | ||
Grønbech calculated that a nearby 8th magnitude star is a fourth member | ||
of the system. | ||
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AI Phe is an eclipsing binary star identified in 1972. Its long mutual | ||
eclipses and combination of spectroscopic and astrometric data allows | ||
precise measurement of the masses and radii of the stars which is | ||
viewed as a potential cross-check on stellar properties and distances | ||
independent on Ceiphid Variables and such techniques. The long eclipse | ||
events require space-based observations to avoid Solar interference. | ||
Gamma Phoenicis is a [red giant](red_giant "wikilink") of spectral type | ||
M0IIIa and varies between magnitudes 3.39 and 3.49. It lies 235 | ||
light years away. [Psi Phoenicis](Psi_Phoenicis "wikilink") is | ||
another red giant, this time of spectral type M4III, and has an | ||
apparent magnitude that ranges between 4.3 and 4.5 over a period of | ||
around 30 days. Lying 340 light years away, it has around 85 | ||
times the diameter, but only 85% of the mass, of the Sun. [W | ||
Phoenicis](W_Phoenicis "wikilink") is a [Mira | ||
variable](Mira_variable "wikilink"), ranging from magnitude 8.1 to 14.4 | ||
over 333.95 days. A red giant, its spectrum ranges between M5e and | ||
M6e. Located 6.5 degrees west of Ankaa is [SX | ||
Phoenicis](SX_Phoenicis "wikilink"), a variable star which ranges from | ||
magnitude 7.1 to 7.5 over a period of a mere 79 minutes. Its spectral | ||
type varies between A2 and F4. It gives its name to a group of stars | ||
known as [SX Phoenicis variables](SX_Phoenicis_variable "wikilink"). | ||
[Rho](Rho_Phoenicis "wikilink") and [BD | ||
Phoenicis](BD_Phoenicis "wikilink") are [Delta Scuti | ||
variables](Delta_Scuti_variable "wikilink")—short period (six hours at | ||
most) pulsating stars that have been used as [standard | ||
candles](Cosmic_distance_ladder#Standard_candles "wikilink") and as | ||
subjects to study [astroseismology](astroseismology "wikilink"). Rho | ||
is spectral type F2III, and ranges between magnitudes 5.20 and 5.26 | ||
over a period of 2.85 hours. BD is of spectral type A1V, and | ||
ranges between magnitudes 5.90 and 5.94. | ||
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[Nu Phoenicis](Nu_Phoenicis "wikilink") is a yellow-white main sequence | ||
star of spectral type F9V and magnitude 4.96. Lying some 49 light | ||
years distant, it is around 1.2 times as massive as the Sun, and | ||
likely to be surrounded by a disk of dust. It is the closest star in | ||
the constellation that is visible with the unaided eye. [Gliese | ||
915](Gliese_915 "wikilink") is a [white dwarf](white_dwarf "wikilink") | ||
only 26 light years away. It is of magnitude 13.05, too faint to be seen | ||
with the naked eye. White dwarfs are extremely dense stars compacted | ||
into a volume the size of the Earth. With around 85% of the mass of | ||
the Sun, Gliese 915 has a [surface gravity](surface_gravity "wikilink") | ||
of 10<sup>8.39 ± 0.01</sup> (2.45 · 10<sup>8</sup>) | ||
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[cm](centimetre "wikilink")·[s](second "wikilink")<sup>−2</sup>, or | ||
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approximately 250,000 of [Earth's](Earth's_gravity "wikilink"). | ||
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Ten stars have been found to have planets to date, and four planetary | ||
systems have been discovered with the [SuperWASP](SuperWASP "wikilink") | ||
project. [HD 142](HD_142 "wikilink") is a yellow giant that has an | ||
apparent magnitude of 5.7, and has a planet ([HD 142 | ||
b](HD_142_b "wikilink")) 1.36 times the mass of Jupiter which orbits | ||
every 328 days. [HD 2039](HD_2039 "wikilink") is a yellow subgiant | ||
with an apparent magnitude of 9.0 around 330 light years away which has | ||
a planet ([HD 2039 b](HD_2039_b "wikilink")) six times the mass of | ||
Jupiter. [WASP-18](WASP-18 "wikilink") is a star of magnitude 9.29 which | ||
was discovered to have a hot Jupiter-like planet | ||
([WASP-18b](WASP-18b "wikilink")) taking less than a day to orbit the | ||
star. The planet is suspected to be causing WASP-18 to appear older | ||
than it really is. [WASP-4](WASP-4 "wikilink") and | ||
[WASP-5](WASP-5 "wikilink") are solar-type yellow stars around 1000 | ||
light years distant and of 13th magnitude, each with a single planet | ||
larger than Jupiter. [WASP-29](WASP-29 "wikilink") is an orange | ||
dwarf of spectral type K4V and visual magnitude 11.3, which has a | ||
planetary companion of similar size and mass to Saturn. The planet | ||
completes an orbit every 3.9 days. | ||
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[WISE J003231.09-494651.4](List_of_brown_dwarfs "wikilink") and [WISE | ||
J001505.87-461517.6](List_of_brown_dwarfs "wikilink") are two [brown | ||
dwarfs](brown_dwarf "wikilink") discovered by the [Wide-field Infrared | ||
Survey Explorer](Wide-field_Infrared_Survey_Explorer "wikilink"), and | ||
are 63 and 49 light years away respectively. Initially hypothesised | ||
before they were belatedly discovered, brown dwarfs are objects more | ||
massive than planets, but which are of insufficient mass for [hydrogen | ||
fusion](Nuclear_fusion "wikilink") characteristic of stars to occur. | ||
Many are being found by sky surveys. | ||
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Phoenix contains [HE0107-5240](HE0107-5240 "wikilink"), possibly one of | ||
the oldest stars yet discovered. It has around 1/200,000 the | ||
[metallicity](metallicity "wikilink") that the Sun has and hence must | ||
have formed very early in the history of the universe. With a visual | ||
magnitude of 15.17, it is around 10,000 times dimmer than the | ||
faintest stars visible to the naked eye and is 36,000 light years | ||
distant. | ||
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### Deep-sky objects | ||
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The constellation does not lie on the [galactic | ||
plane](galactic_plane "wikilink") of the Milky Way, and there are no | ||
prominent star clusters. [NGC 625](NGC_625 "wikilink") is a dwarf | ||
[irregular galaxy](irregular_galaxy "wikilink") of apparent magnitude | ||
11.0 and lying some 12.7 million light years distant. Only 24000 light | ||
years in diameter, it is an outlying member of the [Sculptor | ||
Group](Sculptor_Group "wikilink"). NGC 625 is thought to have been | ||
involved in a collision and is experiencing a burst of [active star | ||
formation](Active_galactic_nucleus "wikilink"). [NGC | ||
37](NGC_37 "wikilink") is a [lenticular | ||
galaxy](lenticular_galaxy "wikilink") of apparent magnitude 14.66. It is | ||
approximately 42 [kiloparsecs](kiloparsecs "wikilink") (137,000 | ||
[light-years](light-years "wikilink")) in diameter and about 12.9 | ||
billion years old. [Robert's Quartet](Robert's_Quartet "wikilink") | ||
(composed of the irregular galaxy [NGC 87](NGC_87 "wikilink"), and three | ||
spiral galaxies [NGC 88](NGC_88 "wikilink"), [NGC 89](NGC_89 "wikilink") | ||
and [NGC 92](NGC_92 "wikilink")) is a group of four galaxies located | ||
around 160 million light-years away which are in the process of | ||
colliding and merging. They are within a circle of radius of 1.6 arcmin, | ||
corresponding to about 75,000 light-years. Located in the galaxy ESO | ||
243-49 is [HLX-1](HLX-1 "wikilink"), an [intermediate-mass black | ||
hole](intermediate-mass_black_hole "wikilink")—the first one of its kind | ||
identified. It is thought to be a remnant of a dwarf galaxy that was | ||
absorbed in a [collision](Interacting_galaxy "wikilink") with ESO | ||
243-49. Before its discovery, this class of black hole was only | ||
hypothesized. | ||
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Lying within the bounds of the constellation is the gigantic [Phoenix | ||
cluster](Phoenix_cluster "wikilink"), which is around 7.3 million light | ||
years wide and 5.7 billion light years away, making it one of the most | ||
massive [galaxy clusters](galaxy_cluster "wikilink"). It was first | ||
discovered in 2010, and the central galaxy is producing an estimated 740 | ||
new stars a year. Larger still is [El | ||
Gordo](El_Gordo_(galaxy_cluster) "wikilink"), or officially ACT-CL | ||
J0102-4915, whose discovery was announced in 2012. Located around | ||
7.2 billion light years away, it is composed of two subclusters in the | ||
process of colliding, resulting in the spewing out of hot gas, seen in | ||
X-rays and infrared images. | ||
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### Meteor showers | ||
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Phoenix is the [radiant](radiant_(meteor_shower) "wikilink") of two | ||
annual [meteor showers](meteor_shower "wikilink"). The | ||
[Phoenicids](Phoenicids "wikilink"), also known as the December | ||
Phoenicids, were first observed on 3 December 1887. The shower was | ||
particularly intense in December 1956, and is thought related to the | ||
breakup of the [short-period comet](short-period_comet "wikilink") | ||
[289P/Blanpain](289P/Blanpain "wikilink"). It peaks around 4–5 December, | ||
though is not seen every year. A very minor meteor shower peaks | ||
around July 14 with around one meteor an hour, though meteors can be | ||
seen anytime from July 3 to 18; this shower is referred to as the July | ||
Phoenicids. |