Canes Venatici

Canes Venatici (Latin for Hunting dogs) is a small northern constellation that was introduced by Johannes Hevelius in the 17th century. It is supposed to represent the dogs Chara and Asterion held on a leash by Boötes.

Notable features

Canes Venatici is one of three constellations that represent dogs, along with Canis Major and Canis Minor. The constellation's brightest star is α CVn, whose proper name is Cor Caroli, named by Edmund Halley in memory of the English King Charles I or his son, Charles II. It is of magnitude 2.90.

Y CVn, sometimes known as "La Superba", is a semiregular variable star that varies between magnitudes 4.7 and 6.2 over a period of around 158 days. It is a very red star.

AM CVn, a very blue star of magnitude 14, is the prototype of a special class of cataclysmic variable stars, in which the companion star is a white dwarf, rather than a main sequence star.

Notable deep sky objects

Canes Venatici contains five Messier objects, including five galaxies. One of the more significant galaxies in Canes Venatici is the Whirlpool Galaxy, M51 (NGC 5194 and NGC 5195), a spiral galaxy that is seen face on. This was the first galaxy recognised as having a spiral structure, this structure being first observed by Lord Rosse in 1845.

Other galaxies in Canes Venatici include the Sunflower Galaxy (M63 or NGC 5055), Spiral Galaxy M94, and Spiral Galaxy M106,

Messier 3 (M3, or NGC 5272) is a globular cluster. It is 18′ in diameter, and at magnitude 6.3 is bright enough to be seen in binoculars.

Possibility of planets

The star Chara or Asterion (Beta Canum Venaticorum) in this constellation has been selected a strong candidate for planets. Margaret Turnbull, an astronomer at the Carnagie Institution of Washington, has recommended that SETI's radio telescopes scan it. (see Is Beta CVn lively).

History

The name of the constellation of Bootes means "herdsman". Some of its component stars were traditionally described as representing his cudgel, which in Greek was called Κολλοροβος. When the Almagest was translated from Greek to Arabic, the translator did not know the Greek word Κολλοροβος, but rendered it as the nearest-looking Arabic word: dhāt al-kullāb ذات الكلاب "having a hook", probably thinking of a shepherd's crook. When the Arabic text was translated into a Western European language, the translater mistook the Arabic word كلاب as kilāb = "dogs": Latin hastile habens canes = "spearshaft having dogs", which expression floated about the astronomical literature until Hevelius decided to find those dogs in the sky.

Notable and named stars

binary star, component magnitudes, 2.89, 5.61
= the heart of Charles
α² Canum Venaticorum is the prototype of the α² CVn variable stars (magnetic spectrum stars)

< χαρά Joy, dear
nearby
solar twin

Delta Scuti variable

binary star, component magnitudes +5.01, +6.91

carbon star

Alpha2 Canum Venaticorum variable

Delta Scuti variable

BD	F	Names and other designations	Right ascension	Declination	Mag.	Ly away
α^1,2	12	Cor Caroli, Alpha Canum Venaticorum, Chara	12^h56^m01.7^s	+38°19′06″	2.90	110
β	8	Beta Canum Venaticorum, Chara	12^h33^m44.5^s	+41°21′27″	4.26	27.4
	24	24 Canum Venaticorum	13^h34^m27.3^s	+49°00′58″	4.70	191
	20	20 Canum Venaticorum, AO Canum Venaticorum,	13^h17^m32.5^s	+40°34′21″	4.73v	286
	5	5 Canum Venaticorum	12^h24^m01.5^s	+51°33′44″	4.80v	393
	25	25 Canum Venaticorum	13^h37^m27.6^s	+36°17′42″	4.82	192
		La Superba, Y Canum Venaticorum	12^h45^m07.8^s	+45°26′25″	4.99v	711
	6	6 Canum Venaticorum	12^h25^m50.9^s	+39°01′07″	5.02	227
	21	21 Canum Venaticorum, BK Canum Venaticorum,	13^h18^m14.5^s	+49°40′55″	5.15v	275
	14	14 Canum Venaticorum	13^h05^m44.5^s	+35°47′56″	5.25
	3	3 Canum Venaticorum	12^h19^m48.7^s	+48°59′03″	5.29
	23	23 Canum Venaticorum	13^h20^m19.0^s	+40°09′02″	5.60
	2	2 Canum Venaticorum	12^h16^m07.6^s	+40°39′37″	5.66
	19	19 Canum Venaticorum	13^h15^m32.0^s	+40°51′19″	5.77	245
	17	17 Canum Venaticorum	13^h10^m03.2^s	+38°29′56″	5.91
	10	10 Canum Venaticorum	12^h44^m59.5^s	+39°16′44″	5.95
	4	4 Canum Venaticorum, AI Canum Venaticorum	12^h23^m47.0^s	+42°32′34″	6.06v	335
	7	7 Canum Venaticorum	12^h30^m02.9^s	+51°32′08″	6.21
	11	11 Canum Venaticorum	12^h48^m41.8^s	+48°28′01″	6.27
	15	15 Canum Venaticorum	13^h09^m42.0^s	+38°32′02″	6.28
	9	9 Canum Venaticorum	12^h38^m46.3^s	+40°52′28″	6.37

Source: The Bright Star Catalogue, 5th Revised Ed., The Hipparcos Catalogue, ESA SP-1200

External links

The Deep Photographic Guide to the Constellations: Canes Venatici

Canes Venatici constellation