The Altar
| Abbreviation: | Ara |
| Genitive: | Arae |
| Origin: | [antiquity] |
| Fully Visible: | 90°S – 22°N |
This constellation commemorates the altar before which the Greek gods made their alliances before declaring war on and ultimately defeating the Titans. It is one of the southernmost of the 48 Ptolemaic constellations.
Notable Features
| Visible Named Stars | ||
|---|---|---|
| μ Ara | Cervantes | This Sun-like star is known to have at least four exoplanets. |
| Other Interesting Stars | ||
| HD 156411 | Inquill | This seventh-magnitude star is known to have at least one exoplanet. It is located near the globular cluster C81. |
| Deep Sky Objects | ||
| C81 | Optical aids are required to spot this globular cluster. It is listed in the New General Catalogue as number 6352. | |
| C82 | This open cluster, also known as NGC 6193, contains 27 stars and is visible to the naked eye. It is associated with the nebula NGC 6188. | |
| C86 | This is one of the brightest globular clusters in the sky on account of it also being one of the nearest. At sixth magnitude, it is just visible to the naked eye under perfect seeing conditions. It is also catalogued as NGC 6397. | |
Copyright © 1995–2023 by L.M. Stockman and David Harper