The Crane
| Abbreviation: | Gru |
| Genitive: | Gruis |
| Origin: | Frederick de Houtmann, Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser, Petrus Plancius |
| Fully Visible: | 90°S – 33°N |
Near the end of the sixteenth century, the observations of Dutch explorers Frederick de Houtman (c.1571–1627) and Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser (c.1540–1596) allowed Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius (1552–1622) to place this constellation on his 1598 celestial globe. Some of the stars were borrowed from the ancient Greek constellation Piscis Austrinus. Other uranographers called this bird Phoenicoptrus which is Latin for 'flamingo'.
Notable Features
| Visible Named Stars | ||
|---|---|---|
| α Gru | Alnair | This star was originally part of the Arabic version of Piscis Austrinus, the southern fish. The original Greek constellation did not extend so far south. It sometimes appears as Al Na'ir in older star atlases and catalogues. |
| β Gru | Tiaki | This star sometimes appears as Deneb Alnahr (from the Arabic dhanab al‑nayyir meaning 'the bright one of the tail') in older star atlases and catalogues. It is a semi-regular red giant star. |
| γ Gru | Aldhanab | This star's name indicates that it was originally considered part of the southern fish's tail. |
| Other Interesting Stars | ||
| HD 208487 | Itonda | The name of this seventh-magnitude star means 'all that is beautiful'. It has one known exoplanet called Mintome. This planetary system is located near γ Gru. |
Copyright © 1995–2023 by L.M. Stockman and David Harper