Tucana the Toucan, deep in southern skies
The constellation Tucana the Toucan is seen year-round from Earth’s Southern Hemisphere. That’s as a result of it’s close to the south celestial pole, the purpose within the sky round which all southern stars revolve. So these of us within the Northern Hemisphere must journey southward on Earth’s globe to see Tucana. And, as soon as we obtained there, we’d discover that the celebrities of this constellation aren’t notably shiny or exceptional. But many people know Tucana by title. Why?
It’s as a result of this constellation is known for being dwelling to the Small Magellanic Cloud, the fuzzy patch within the sky that represents one among two comparatively giant dwarf galaxies orbiting our Milky Way. Plus, southern stargazers know that a big globular star cluster – 47 Tucanae, seen to the unaided eye – can be positioned inside the boundaries of Tucana. Actually, this constellation’s stars are more durable to pick than the globular cluster and galaxy that anchor its southern edge.
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Stars of Tucana
The brightest star in Tucana is Alpha Tucanae, a magnitude 2.87 star that lies virtually 200 light-years from Earth.
On the alternative facet of the constellation from Alpha is Beta Tucanae, a star system containing six stars loosely sure collectively. Beta 1 is the brightest and shines at magnitude 4.36. Beta 2 shines at magnitude 4.53, and Beta 3 shines at 5.07. The entire Beta Tucanae system is a median of 140 light-years from Earth.
Small Magellanic Cloud
Regardless of its nice distance of 197,000 light-years, the Small Magellanic Cloud is likely one of the closest galaxies to Earth. You may see it with out optical help as a misty, cloudy patch from dark-sky locations. The Small Magellanic Cloud is an irregular galaxy however has a central bar as a part of its construction, making it appear like a disturbed former spiral. It’s the smaller of the 2 satellite galaxies within the Southern Hemisphere skies, with the bigger being the aptly named the Large Magellanic Cloud.
The Small Magellanic Cloud has many clusters and nebulae inside its expanse. A wonderful goal for a telescope, clusters stream by its size and out one tail. The Small Magellanic Cloud’s close by kin, the Massive Magellanic Cloud, lies within the constellations Mensa and Dorado. Each of those close by galaxies are being sucked inward by our Milky Way Galaxy and can ultimately be absorbed by it.
47 Tucanae
The globular cluster 47 Tucanae additionally bears the catalog title NGC 104. It shines shiny at magnitude 4.0 and is definitely seen with the unaided eye. In glorious seeing circumstances, it seems as giant because the full moon. It’s the second brightest globular cluster of the Milky Way and accommodates tens of millions of stars. Use binoculars or a telescope to resolve 1000’s of stars within the cluster.
47 Tucanae lies 14,500 light-years away. 47 Tucanae and the Small Magellanic Cloud could look shut collectively, however that’s solely a line-of-sight coincidence. The Small Magellanic Cloud is about 14 occasions farther away.
Bonus globular cluster
Need a bonus observing goal? On the alternative fringe of the Small Magellanic Cloud’s curving form from 47 Tucanae is NGC 362, one other shiny globular cluster. NGC 362 is a bit dimmer than 47 Tucanae, at magnitude 6.4, however nonetheless an excellent goal in binoculars or small telescopes.
The Hubble Deep Area South
The Hubble Space Telescope took a collection of well-known photographs referred to as “deep fields” beginning within the Nineteen Nineties. In these photographs, the space telescope stared at what principally appears to be like like a clean space of sky for an extended time period, permitting the faint background objects to come back to mild. One among these photographs, the Hubble Deep Area South, got here from a area of Tucana.
Backside line: Tucana the Toucan is a constellation within the Southern Hemisphere that’s a cinch to identify. Simply search for our little satellite galaxy, the Small Magellanic Cloud. Two easy-to-observe globular clusters additionally reside right here.
