The Constellations Telescopium and Microscopium
Observing the Southern Constellations of the Telescope and Microscope
Jul 6, 2009
Telescopium and Microscopium are more remarkable for what they lack than for what they contain. The brightest star in either is the magnitude 3.49 Alpha Telescopii. With no bright stars, nebulae, clusters, or galaxies, Telescopium and Microscopium are not usually observing targets for amateurs.
How Telescopium and Microscopium Got Their Names
In the 18th century, Nicolas Louis de Lacaille traveled to the Southern Hemisphere to observe the skies. During this time he gave names to 14 of the constellations he saw, including Telescopium and Microscopium. Lacaille honored the state-of-the-art scientific instruments of his time by naming some dark patches of sky after the telescope and microscope, although the stars do not in any way resemble the aforementioned objects. The constellations' names come from Latin.
Objects in Telescopium the Telescope
Telescopium takes up slightly more of the sky than Microscopium. Telescopium is found easiest by first finding the bright stars of Sagittarius, particularly the teapot asterism, then looking south for the curved shape of Corona Australis, and just south of that is the dark region of Telescopium.
The brightest star in Telescopium is Alpha Telescopii at magnitude 3.49. It lies 249 light-years away. Its second brightest star is just 3 degrees to the south. Here lies magnitude 4.09 Zeta Telescopii. It lies 127 light-years away. Less than a degree to the southeast of Alpha is a double star known as Delta 1 and Delta 2 Telescopii. The brighter member, Delta 1, lies 795.5 light-years away and shines at magnitude 4.92. Delta 2 lies 1116.9 light-years away and shines at magnitude 5.07. The pair lies less than 10 arcminutes apart.
Objects in Microscopium the Microscope
Microscopium the Microscope is found directly south of Capricornus. Microscopium's brightest star is the magnitude 4.67 Gamma Microscopii. It lies 223.5 light-years away. To its southeast is magnitude 4.71 Epsilon Microscopii at a distance of 165 light-years. To Gamma's northwest is magnitude 4.88 Alpha Microscopii at a distance of 380.5 light-years.
A large dust disk has been found around a star in Microscopium known as AU Microscopii or HD 197481. Many dusty disks have been found around stars, and astronomers believe that some of them are precursors to solar systems. AU Microscopii is an M-type star, as are 85 percent of stars in the galaxy. It lies nearby at a distance of 32.4 light-years. It is similar in age, distance, and origin as the star Beta Pictoris, which is famous for its dusty, pre-planetary disk. AU Microscopii is magnitude 8.81, which is only visible in binoculars or a telescope. Its disk is not visible to amateur equipment.
