IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine (Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg)
Centaurus
The Centaur
OriginAncient
AbbreviationCen
GenitiveCentauri
Pronunciation/sɛnˈtɔːrəs, -ˈtɑːr-/ sen-TOR-əss, -⁠TAR- genitive /sɛnˈtɔːraɪ, -ˈtɔːri, -ˈtɑːri/ sen-TOR-eye, -⁠TOR-ee, -⁠TAR-ee
sen-TOR-us
LocationSouthern Hemisphere
Primary StarRigil Kentaurus (α Cen)
Right Ascention 14h 40m Declination -60° 50'
Martian Solar Lag δ(🜨→♂) +0.422 h (25.3 min)
Centaurus, “The Centaur”, is one of two centaurs in the night sky, the other being Sagittarius. Centaurs are half-man, half-horse beasts known for being ill behaved. In some Greek myths, Centaurus is Chiron, an extremely wise and intelligent being. He was a renowned tutor, and he instructed the likes of Hercules, Achilles, Jason, Theseus and Asclepius (see Ophiuchus) from his cave on Mount Pelion. He taught archery, hunting, medicine, music and prophecy. He was accidently shot in the knee with one of Hercules’ Hydra poisoned arrows during an attack while the two were paying a visit to the centaur Pholous. The pain from the poison was excruciating and unending, and being immortal he could not die. Zeus agreed to transfer Chiron’s immortality to Prometheus so he could die and be released from the agony. When he passed, Zeus placed him amongst the stars.
www.underthesky.com
Centaurus as depicted by Johannes Hevelius in his Firmamentum Sobiescianum sive Uranographia (1687). Source image provided by www.RareMaps.com — Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps Inc. Via www.underthenightsky.com.
←Centaurus 43→
SolPhoDeiTerVenJovSat
1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
232425262728
1 Centaurus 43 2 Centaurus 43 3 Centaurus 43 4 Centaurus 43 5 Centaurus 43 6 Centaurus 43 7 Centaurus 43 8 Centaurus 43 9 Centaurus 43 10 Centaurus 43 11 Centaurus 43 12 Centaurus 43 13 Centaurus 43 14 Centaurus 43 15 Centaurus 43 16 Centaurus 43 17 Centaurus 43 18 Centaurus 43 19 Centaurus 43 20 Centaurus 43 21 Centaurus 43 22 Centaurus 43 23 Centaurus 43 24 Centaurus 43 25 Centaurus 43 26 Centaurus 43 27 Centaurus 43 28 Centaurus 43 1 Draco 43 2 February 1692 3 February 1692 4 February 1692 5 February 1692 6 February 1692 7 February 1692 8 February 1692 9 February 1692 10 February 1692 11 February 1692 12 February 1692 13 February 1692 14 February 1692 15 February 1692 16 February 1692 17 February 1692 18 February 1692 19 February 1692 20 February 1692 21 February 1692 22 February 1692 23 February 1692 24 February 1692 25 February 1692 26 February 1692 27 February 1692 28 February 1692 29 February 1692 1 March 1692 2 March 1692
MS -118581 MS -118580 MS -118579 MS -118578 MS -118577 MS -118576 MS -118575 MS -118574 MS -118573 MS -118572 MS -118571 MS -118570 MS -118569 MS -118568 MS -118567 MS -118566 MS -118565 MS -118564 MS -118563 MS -118562 MS -118561 MS -118560 MS -118559 MS -118558 MS -118557 MS -118556 MS -118555 MS -118554 MS -118553 MD -121885 MD -121884 MD -121883 MD -121882 MD -121881 MD -121880 MD -121879 MD -121878 MD -121877 MD -121876 MD -121875 MD -121874 MD -121873 MD -121872 MD -121871 MD -121870 MD -121869 MD -121868 MD -121867 MD -121866 MD -121865 MD -121864 MD -121863 MD -121862 MD -121861 MD -121860 MD -121859 MD -121858 MD -121857 MD -121856