Tucana

Tucana
Constellation
Tucana
AbbreviationTuc[1]
GenitiveTucanae
Pronunciation/tjˈknə/,
genitive /-ni/
Symbolismthe toucan
Right ascension22h 08.45m to 01h 24.82m [2]
Declination−56.31° to −75.35°[2]
QuadrantSQ1
Area295 sq. deg. (48th)
Main stars3
Bayer/Flamsteed
stars
17
Stars with planets5
Stars brighter than 3.00m1
Stars within 10.00 pc (32.62 ly)2[note 1]
Brightest starα Tuc (2.87m)
Messier objects0
Bordering
constellations
Grus
Indus
Octans
Hydrus
Eridanus (corner)
Phoenix
Visible at latitudes between +25° and −90°.
Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of November.

Tucana (The Toucan) is a constellation in the southern sky, named after the toucan, a South American bird. It is one of twelve constellations conceived in the late sixteenth century by Petrus Plancius from the observations of Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman. Tucana first appeared on a 35-centimetre-diameter (14 in) celestial globe published in 1598 in Amsterdam by Plancius and Jodocus Hondius and was depicted in Johann Bayer's star atlas Uranometria of 1603. French explorer and astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille gave its stars Bayer designations in 1756. The constellations Tucana, Grus, Phoenix and Pavo are collectively known as the "Southern Birds".

Tucana is not a prominent constellation as all of its stars are third magnitude or fainter; the brightest is Alpha Tucanae with an apparent visual magnitude of 2.87. Beta Tucanae is a star system with six member stars, while Kappa is a quadruple system. The constellation contains 47 Tucanae, one of the brightest globular clusters in the sky, and most of the Small Magellanic Cloud.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference pa30_469 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference boundary was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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