The Dolphin
| Abbreviation: | Del |
| Genitive: | Delphini |
| Origin: | [antiquity] |
| Fully Visible: | 69°S – 90°N |
There are two stories from Greek mythology associated with the dolphin. In one, a dolphin persuaded a reluctant Amphitrite to marry the god Poseiden and Poseiden, in gratitude, placed the dolphin's image in the stars. In another story, the poet Arion was rescued by a dolphin when he jumped overboard ship to avoid death at the hands of the crew.
The stars α Del, β Del, δ Del and γ Del make up the tiny asterism known as 'Job's Coffin'.
Notable Features
| Visible Named Stars | ||
|---|---|---|
| α Del | Sualocin | Nicolaus Venator is the Latinised form of Nicolò Cacciatore. He was the assistant and successor to Giuseppe Piazzi at the Palermo Astronomical Observatory in the nineteenth century. Sualocin is Nicolaus spelled backwards. This star sometimes appears as Svalocin in older star atlases and catalogues. |
| β Del | Rotanev | Similarly, Rotanev is Venator spelled backwards. |
| ε Del | Aldulfin | This star sometimes appears as Al Amud al Salib (from the Arabic al‑ʿamūd al‑ṣalīb meaning 'the post of the cross') in older star atlases and catalogues. |
| 18 Del | Musica | This star is known to have at least one exoplanet. |
| Other Interesting Stars | ||
| HAT‑P‑23 | Moriah | This twelfth-magnitude star is known to have at least one exoplanet. |
| Deep Sky Objects | ||
| C42 | A telescope will be necessary to observe this dim and distant globular cluster. Its New General Catalogue number is 7006. | |
| C47 | This globular cluster (NGC 6934) also requires optical aids to see it. | |
Copyright © 1995–2023 by L.M. Stockman and David Harper