Constellations of the Month: April – Antlia:
We continue April with the next constellation of the month, Antlia, “The Pump.”

Antlia constellation map courtesy of Openverse

Antlia, “The Pump” – The Antlia constellation is a constellation in the southern sky and symbolizes “the pump” in Latin. Antlia was originally named Antlia Pneumatica to honor the invention of the air pump. It was created by the French astronomer Abbé Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in the 18th century, along with 13 other constellations. Antlia has no myths associated with it and is named after scientific instruments. Notable deep sky objects include the Antlia Dwarf Galaxy and several galaxies in the Antlia Cluster.

A spiral in the Air Pump courtesy of Openverse

Key points regarding Antlia:

• Meaning: The term “Antlia” translates to “The Pump.” Antlia features a single officially recognized star, known as Macondo (HD 93083), as designated by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). This constellation is part of the Lacaille family, which includes Caelum, Circinus, Fornax, Horologium, Mensa, Microscopium, Norma, Octans, Pictor, Reticulum, Sculptor, and Telescopium.
• Notable stars: Alpha Antliae is the brightest star in its constellation, a fourth magnitude star located 365 light years away. It is a K-type giant, around a billion years old, expected to evolve into a Mira-type variable. Epsilon Antliae is an orange K-type giant, about 700 light years distant, with an apparent magnitude of 4.51. Iota Antliae, also an orange K-type giant, is 199 light years away, with a magnitude of 4.60. Theta Antliae, a binary star 384 light years away, consists of a white A-type dwarf and a yellow-white F-type giant, with an apparent magnitude of 4.78. Eta Antliae is another binary star, 106 light years distant, featuring a yellow-white F-type giant and a faint companion. U Antliae is a red C-type carbon star approximately 836 light years away, an irregular variable star with a magnitude of 5.5. AG Antliae, a post-asymptotic giant branch star over 2000 light years distant, has a magnitude of 5.53. Delta Antliae is a double star about 481 light-years away, with a bright blue-white B-type component of magnitude +5.57 and a fainter visual companion.
• Other features: The Antlia Dwarf, or Antlia Dwarf Galaxy, is a faint dwarf spheroidal galaxy located about 4.3 million light years from Earth, discovered in 1997. It may interact with the small galaxy NGC 3109 in the Hydra constellation. NGC 2997 is a bright unbarred spiral galaxy about 24.8 million light years away, known for its clear spiral arms and hot ionized hydrogen clouds around its nucleus. The Antlia Cluster is a group of about 234 galaxies, located between 32.58 and 32.71 million light years from Earth, lacking a single brightest galaxy, and dominated by two giant elliptical galaxies, NGC 3258 and NGC 3268. Other galaxies mentioned include IC 2560, IC 2545, NGC 3125, and NGC 3244.
• Mythology: Antlia has no myth linked to it. It was named after the air pump, Antlia pneumatica, created by French physicist Denis Papin, who also invented the steam digester. Lacaille depicted Antlia as the single-cylinder pump used by Papin in the 1670s. The constellation was catalogued in Lacaille’s Coelum Australe Stelliferum, published in 1763, which included nearly 10,000 southern stars and 14 new constellations.
• Visibility: Antlia is ranked 62^nd in constellation size, covering 239 square degrees in the southern hemisphere. It is visible at latitudes from +45° to -90° and is surrounded by Centaurus, Hydra, Pyxis, and Vela. The name Antlia means “Air Pump” and is pronounced /ˈæntliə/. Its abbreviation, Ant, was approved by the International Astronomical Union in 1922. Antlia has no stars brighter than magnitude 3. 00 and includes two stars near Earth. The brightest star is Alpha Antliae, and two stars have known planets. There are no meteor showers or Messier objects in Antlia.

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Constellations:

Sidney Hall’s (1831) astronomical chart illustration of the Noctua, Corvus, Crater, Sextans Uraniae, Hydra, Felis, Lupus, Centaurus, Antlia Pneumatica, Argo Navis, and teh Pyxis Nautica. Original from Library of Congress. Digitally enhanced by rawpi courtesy of Openverse

Constellations of the Month:
April – Antlia

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