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Apus is a faint constellation in the southern sky, first defined in the sixteenth century. Its name means "no feet" in Latin, and it represents a bird of paradise (which were once believed to lack feet). It is bordered by Triangulum Australe, Circinus, Musca, Chamaeleon, Octans, Pavo and Ara. Its genitive is "Apodis".
[edit] History
Apus was one of twelve constellations created by Petrus Plancius from the observations of Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman and it first appeared on a 35-cm diameter celestial globe published in 1597 (or 1598) in Amsterdam by Plancius with Jodocus Hondius. Plancius called the constellation Paradysvogel Apis Indica; the first word is Dutch for 'bird of paradise', but the others are Latin for "Indian Bee"; "apis" (Latin for "bee") is presumably an error for "avis" or "bird".[1] This confusion seems to have prompted a rename of two constellations: "Avis Indica" to "Apus" and the constellation of the bee, Apis, to Musca the fly.[citation needed]
The first depiction of this constellation in a celestial atlas was in Johann Bayer's Uranometria of 1603.
[edit] Notable features
Apus includes two impressive clusters, NGC 6101 and IC 4499, as well as a very unusual nebular structure IC 4633.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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Constellation history |
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The 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy after 150 AD |
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The 41 modern additional constellations from 1603 AD and forth |
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