Abbreviation:

Col

English name:

Dove

Coordinates

see Stellar data

Particulars:

• Runaway star mu Col
• Globular cluster NGC 1851
• Elliptical galaxy NGC 1792
• Starburst galaxy NGC 1808

General:

A constellation of the southern hemisphere and a member of the "Heavenly Waters" constellation family. Columba is thought to be the dove following along after Noah's Ark.

Stars and other objects

There are only two objects worth to be mentioned. Neither of them is of interest to amateur astronomers:

• The blue 5 mag star mu Col is one of the three so-called "runaway stars". These seem to be diverging from a point of Orion with a speed of around 100 km/s. The other two stars are AE Aur and 53 Ari. There is a theory claiming that these stars once belonged to a quadruple star system, of which the forth member exploded in a supernova, about three millions years ago, and therefore pushed away the other three stars in different directions.
• The globular cluster NGC 1851 is located very close to DECL=-40 degrees.