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Monoceros: Difference between revisions
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* Hubble's Variable Nebula (NGC 2261) is a nebula with an approximate magnitude of 10, 2500 light-years from Earth. Though it is named for Edwin Hubble, it was discovered in 1783 by William Herschel. Hubble's Variable Nebula is illuminated by R Monocerotis, a young variable star embedded in the nebula; the star's unique interaction with the material in the nebula makes it both an emission nebula and a reflection nebula. One hypothesis regarding their interaction is that the nebula and its illuminating star are a very early stage planetary system. | * Hubble's Variable Nebula (NGC 2261) is a nebula with an approximate magnitude of 10, 2500 light-years from Earth. Though it is named for Edwin Hubble, it was discovered in 1783 by William Herschel. Hubble's Variable Nebula is illuminated by R Monocerotis, a young variable star embedded in the nebula; the star's unique interaction with the material in the nebula makes it both an emission nebula and a reflection nebula. One hypothesis regarding their interaction is that the nebula and its illuminating star are a very early stage planetary system. | ||
==History== | |||
Monoceros is a relatively modern constellation. Its first certain appearance was on a globe created by the Dutch cartographer Petrus Plancius in 1612 or 1613[7] and it was later charted by Jakob Bartsch as Unicornu on his star chart of 1624. | |||
Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers and Ludwig Ideler[9] indicate (according to Richard Hinkley Allen's allegations) that the constellation may be older, quoting an astrological work[10] from 1564 that mentioned "the second horse between the Twins and the Crab has many stars, but not very bright"; these references may ultimately be due to Michael Scot of the 13th century, but refer to a horse and not a unicorn, and its position does not quite match. Joseph Scaliger is reported[11] to have found Monoceros on an ancient Persian sphere. [Camille Flammarion] believed that a former constellation, Neper (the "Auger"), occupied the area of the sky now home to Monoceros andMicroscopium, but this is disputed | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||