Horologium constellation lies in the southern sky. Its name means “the clock” in Latin.
It is a small, faint constellation that was created in the 18th century by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille. Lacaille originally named the constellation Horologium Oscillitorium, or “the pendulum clock,” but the name was later shortened to simply Horologium, “the clock.”
The constellation is not associated with any myths and does not have any bright stars. It is home to the Horologium Supercluster, a massive supercluster containing about 5,000 galaxy groups.
FACTS, LOCATION & MAP
Horologium is the 58th constellation in size, occupying an area of 249 square degrees in the night sky. It is located in the first quadrant of the southern hemisphere (SQ1) and can be seen at latitudes between +30° and -90°. The neighboring constellations are Caelum, Dorado, Eridanus, Hydrus and Reticulum.
Horologium does not have any stars brighter than magnitude 3.00 and contains only one star located within 10 parsecs (32.6 light years) of Earth. The brightest star in the constellation is Alpha Horologii, with an apparent magnitude of 3.85. The nearest star is Gliese 1061 (spectral class M5.5V), located at a distance of 12.04 light years from Earth.
Horologium belongs to the Lacaille family of constellations, along with Antlia, Caelum, Circinus, Fornax, Mensa, Microscopium, Norma, Octans, Pictor, Reticulum, Sculptor, and Telescopium.
Horologium has three stars with known exoplanets, Iota Horologii (spectral class G0Vp), HD 27631 (G3IV), and WASP-120 (F5). It does not contain any Messier objects. There are no meteor showers associated with the constellation.
STORY
Lacaille named the constellation after the pendulum clock to honour its inventor Christiaan Huygens.
The constellation represents the pendulum clock Lacaille used to time his observations.
The brightest star in the constellation, Alpha Horologii, represents the pendulum in some depictions, and is located on one of the weights in others.
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