Նոր սարսափելի բացահայտում՝ գեներալ Մանվելի մասին ՏԵՍԱՆՅՈՒԹ

Covering 238.9 square degrees and hence 0.579% of the sky, Antlia ranks 62nd of the 88 modern constellations by area.[13] Its position in the Southern Celestial Hemisphere means that the whole constellation is visible to observers south of 49°N.[13][b] Hydra the sea snake runs along the length of its northern border, while Pyxis the compass, Vela the sails, and Centaurus the centaur line it to the west, south and east respectively. The three-letter abbreviation for the constellation, as adopted by the International Astronomical Union, is Ant.[9] The official constellation boundaries, as set by Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte in 1930,[c] are defined by a polygon of twelve segments (illustrated in infobox at top-right). In the equatorial coordinate system, the right ascension coordinates of these borders lie between 09h 26.5m and 11h 05.6m, while the declination coordinates are between −24.54° and −40.42°.[2]

Lacaille gave nine stars Bayer designations, labelling them Alpha through to Theta, including two stars next to each other as Zeta. Gould later added a tenth, Iota Antliae. Beta and Gamma Antliae (now HR 4339 and HD 90156) ended up in the neighbouring constellation Hydra once the constellation boundaries were delineated in 1930.[15] Within the constellation’s borders, there are 42 stars brighter than or equal to apparent magnitude 6.5.[d][13] The constellation’s two brightest stars—Alpha and Epsilon Antliae—shine with a reddish tinge.[17] Alpha is an orange giant of spectral type K4III that is a suspected variable star, ranging between apparent magnitudes 4.22 and 4.29.[18] It is located 320 ± 10 light-years away from Earth.[19] Estimated to be shining with around 480 to 555 times the luminosity of the Sun, it is most likely an ageing star that is brightening and on its way to becoming a Mira variable star, having converted all its core fuel into carbon.[20] Located 590 ± 30 light-years from Earth,[21] Epsilon Antliae is an evolved orange giant star of spectral type K3 IIIa, that has swollen to have a diameter about 69 times that of the Sun,[22] and a luminosity of around 1279 Suns.[23] It is slightly variable.[24] At the other end of Antlia, Iota Antliae is likewise an orange giant of spectral type K1 III.[25] It is 202 ± 2 light-years distant.[26]