Constellation Columba (Dove)

Properties

The constellation is south of Orion, separated by Lepus. It is a rather inconspicuous constellation, the most striking feature of which is a wavy line of six stars that runs from east to west. The constellation covers 270 square degrees of the sky and culminates around midnight on December 17th. ^{[9, 15]}

Stars with Proper Names:

α Columbae: Phaet, Phakt, Phact, Phad
β Columbae: Wezn, Wazn

Data for constellation Columba ^[150]
IAU Name	Columba
IAU Genitive	Columbae
IAU Abbr.	Col
English Name	Dove
Season (47° N)	November … March
Right Ascension	5^h 03^m 54^s … 6^h 39^m 37^s
Declination	-43° 06' 42" … -27° 04' 38"
Area	270 deg²
Neighbours (N↻)	Lep, Cae, Pic, Pup, CMa

Mythology and History

Columba is a constellation related to Argo Navis (today divided into Carina, Vela, Puppis, Pyxis). Some see it as the dove that showed the Argonauts the way between deadly rocks at the entrance to the Black Sea, others see it as Noah's dove, which Noah sent out after the flood to look for land.

The constellation was introduced by Johann Bayer in his Uranometria from 1603 and taken into an official list by the French Augustin Royer in 1679. ^[7]

Catalogs

Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th Revised Ed. (Hoffleit+, 1991) ^[154]
HR	B	RA [hms]	Dec [dms]	vMag	spType	dMag	Sep ["]
1743	ο	05 17 29.1	-34 53 43	4.83	K0IV
1862	ε	05 31 12.7	-35 28 14	3.87	K1IIIa
1926	ν¹	05 37 16.5	-27 52 17	6.16	F0IV
1935	ν²	05 37 44.6	-28 41 22	5.31	F4V
1956	α	05 39 38.9	-34 04 27	2.64	B7IVe v	9.7	13.5
1996	μ	05 45 59.9	-32 18 23	5.17	O9.5V
2040	β	05 50 57.6	-35 46 06	3.12	K2III
2056	λ	05 53 06.9	-33 48 05	4.87	B5V
2087	ξ	05 55 29.9	-37 07 15	4.97	K1III
2092	σ	05 56 20.9	-31 22 57	5.50	F2III
2106	γ	05 57 32.2	-35 17 00	4.36	B2.5IV	8.3	33.8
2120	η	05 59 08.8	-42 48 55	3.96	K0III
2171	π¹	06 06 41.0	-42 17 55	6.12	Am
2177	θ	06 07 31.6	-37 15 11	5.02	B9IV
2181	π²	06 07 52.9	-42 09 14	5.50	A0V	0.1	0.1
2256	κ	06 16 33.1	-35 08 26	4.37	K0.5IIIa
2296	δ	06 22 06.8	-33 26 11	3.85	G7II

«Revised New General Catalogue and Index Catalogue», Dr. Wolfgang Steinicke, 2021 ^[277]
Name	RA	Dec	Type	Bmag	Vmag	Dim	Dreyer Description	Identification
NGC 1792	05 05 13.8	-37 58 47	Gx (SBbc)	10.9	10.2	5.20 × 2.6	vB, vL, mE 314°, glbM, rr	ESO 305-6, MCG -6-12-4, AM 0503-380, IRAS 05035-3802
NGC 1800	05 06 25.4	-31 57 16	Gx (IBm)	13.1	12.6	2.00 × 1.1	pB, pmE, gpmbM, * 13 f	ESO 422-30, MCG -5-13-4, AM 0504-320, IRAS 05045-3201
NGC 1808	05 07 42.5	-37 30 48	Gx (SBa)	10.7	9.9	6.50 × 3.9	B, L, E, psbM	ESO 305-8, MCG -6-12-5, AM 0505-373, IRAS 05059-3734
NGC 1811	05 08 42.5	-29 16 35	Gx (Sa)	14.5	13.6	1.70 × 0.4	cF, S, lE, p of 2	ESO 422-37, MCG -5-13-8, AM 0506-292
NGC 1812	05 08 52.8	-29 15 06	Gx (Sa)	13.5	12.6	1.20 × 0.9	F, S, R, glbM, f of 2	ESO 422-39, MCG -5-13-9, AM 0506-291, IRAS 05068-2918
NGC 1827	05 10 04.4	-36 57 37	Gx (SBc)	13.3	12.6	3.00 × 0.7	vF, vmE, long ray, * 11 inv	ESO 362-6, MCG -6-12-8, AM 0508-370, IRAS 05083-3701
NGC 1851	05 14 06.3	-40 02 48	GCL (II)		7.1	12.00	globular! vB, vL, R, vsvvbM, rrr	GCL 9, ESO 305-SC16
NGC 1879	05 19 48.1	-32 08 33	Gx (SBm)	13.2	12.8	2.50 × 1.7	vF, L, R, vgvlbM, * 12 p	ESO 423-6, MCG -5-13-16, UGCA 110, IRAS 05178-3211, DDO 232, AM 0517-321
NGC 1891	05 21 44.0	-35 47 24	*Grp			5.00	Cl, L, sc, ** taken	ESO 362-?20
NGC 1963	05 32 10.8	-36 22 50	OCL			14.00	Cl, st 8…11	ESO 363-SC5
NGC 1989	05 34 23.4	-30 48 02	Gx (E-S0)	13.9	12.9	1.40 × 1.1	vF, S, R, lbM, st nr	ESO 423-21, MCG -5-14-4, AM 0532-304
NGC 1992	05 34 31.8	-30 53 49	Gx (S0-a)	14.4	13.5	1.10 × 0.7	eeF, vS	ESO 423-23, MCG -5-14-7, AM 0532-305
NGC 2049	05 43 15.1	-30 04 41	Gx (Sa)	13.6	12.7	2.00 × 1.0	vF, S, R, bM	ESO 424-11, MCG -5-14-11, AM 0541-300
NGC 2061	05 42 41.9	-34 00 14	*Grp			8.00 × 8.0	Cl, L, lC, st 13	ESO 363-**16
NGC 2090	05 47 01.6	-34 15 03	Gx (Sc)	12.0	11.2	4.90 × 2.4	globular, B, pL, iR, gbM	ESO 363-23, MCG -6-13-9, AM 0545-341, IRAS 05452-3416
NGC 2188	06 10 09.7	-34 06 18	Gx (SBm)	12.1	11.7	4.20 × 1.1	pF, pL, vmE, gvlbM	ESO 364-37, MCG -6-14-8, AM 0608-340
NGC 2255	06 33 58.6	-34 48 42	Gx (SBc)	14.2	13.5	1.50 × 0.7	eF, S, lE, vlbM	ESO 365-31, MCG -6-15-10, IRAS 06321-3446
IC 2122	05 19 01.4	-37 05 21	Gx (E-S0)	13.7	12.7	1.50 × 1.3	pB, eS, R, 3 st nf	ESO 362-14, MCG -6-12-17, AM 0517-370
IC 2135	05 33 13.2	-36 23 58	Sc	13.2	12.5	2.80 × 0.6	eeF, eS, eE, v diffic	IC 2136, ESO 363-7, MCG -6-13-4, AM 0531-362, IRAS 05314-3626
IC 2136	05 33 13.2	-36 23 58	Gx (Sc)	13.2	12.5	2.80 × 0.6	eF, pS, eE	IC 2135, ESO 363-7, MCG -6-13-4, AM 0531-362, IRAS 05314-3626
IC 2147	05 47 48.1	-30 29 52	NF				eeF, pS, R, F * np
IC 2150	05 51 18.5	-38 19 16	Gx (Sc)	13.5	12.8	2.60 × 0.8	eeF, S, vmE, v diffic, 3 st s	ESO 306-32, MCG -6-13-16, IRAS 05496-3819
IC 2153	06 00 04.8	-33 55 10	Gx (P)	14.5	13.5	1.10 × 0.8	eF, vS, susp	ESO 364-22, AM 0558-335, IRAS 05582-3355
IC 2155	06 00 49.0	-34 00 50	NF				eF, vS, R, susp
IC 2158	06 05 17.9	-27 51 25	Gx (SBab)	12.9	12.1	1.70 × 1.3	vF, pS, lE, brush, * att nf	ESO 425-7, MCG -5-15-4, IRAS 06033-2751

References

7	«Der grosse Kosmos-Himmelsführer» von Ian Ridpath und Wil Tirion; Kosmos Verlag; ISBN 3-440-05787-9
9	«Drehbare Sternkarte SIRIUS» von H. Suter-Haug; Hallwag-Verlag, Bern
15	«Hartung's Astronomical Objects for Southern Telescopes» by David Malin and David J. Frew; Melbourne University Press 1995; ISBN 0-522-84553-3
150	IAU: The Constellations, 11. Oktober 2020; iau.org/public/themes/constellations
154	Yale Bright Star Catalog, 15. Oktober 2020; tdc-www.harvard.edu/catalogs/bsc5.html
277	«Historische Deep-Sky Kataloge» von Dr. Wolfgang Steinicke; klima-luft.de/steinicke (2021-02-17)