Phoenix (original) (raw)
Phoenix (abbreviation Phe), the Firebird, is a southern constellation lying near Achernar between Hydrus and Sculptor. Among its interesting objects are SX Phoenicis, the type star for a class of pulsating variable (see SX Phoenicis star), which has the remarkably short period of 79 minutes (magnitude range 6.8 to 7.5; RA 23h 46.5m, Dec –41° 35') and the Phoenix Dwarf irregular galaxy. See below for details of the constellation's brightest stars.
Phoenix Dwarf
The Phoenix Dwarf Galaxy is a dwarf irregular galaxy, or possibly a dwarf spheroidal galaxy, that is a member of the Local Group. Discovered in 1976, by Hans-Emil Schuster and Richard Martin West of the European Southern Observatory, it was at first suspected of being a globular cluster.
| distance | 1.4 million light-years |
|---|---|
| position | RA 01h 51.1m, Dec -44° 27' |
| Stars brighter than magnitude 4.0 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| star | vis mag | abs mag | spec type | distance (ly) | RA (h m s) | Dec (° ' ") |
| Alpha (Ankaa) | 2.40 | 0.52 | K0III | 77 | 00 26 12 | -42 18 22 |
| Beta | 3.32 | -0.60 | G8IIIv | 198 | 01 06 03 | -46 43 07 |
| Gamma | 3.41 | -0.87 | K5II | 234 | 01 28 22 | -43 19 06 |
| Zeta | 3.94v | -0.73 | B6V+B9V | 280 | 01 08 23 | -55 14 45 |
| Epsilon | 3.88 | 0.71 | K0III | 140 | 00 09 25 | -45 44 51 |
| Kappa | 3.93 | 2.07 | A7V | 77 | 00 26 12 | -43 40 48 |
| Delta | 3.93 | 0.66 | K0III | 147 | 01 31 15 | -49 04 22 |