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Sky Chart and Artist Rendering of Musca
Origin:
The Fly (originally named Apis, the Bee) was introduced by Johann Bayer in his 1603 star atlas, Uranometria,
but was shown as a fly in the 1763 atlas of French astronomer, Nicolas Louis de Lacaille. The
Fly's original name was Musca Australis (the Southern Fly) which had a
northern counterpart, Musca Borealis, near Aries.
The Northern Fly disappeared from the sky and, as such, the Southern Fly
no longer needed the descriptor "Australis" and the name was
shortened to simply Musca.
Information:
Being so far south in the sky and being somewhat of a diminutive
constellation, Musca would be difficult to find were it not for Crux. Musca can be found directly south of and
culminates at the same time as Crux. Musca is immersed in a southern
portion of the Milky Way so has many deep sky wonders to enjoy.
Unfortunately for northern observers, Musca is so far south that observers
north of the the equator have little opportunity to enjoy the sights. |
