Constellations of the Month: October – Grus:
We continue October with the next constellation of the month, Grus, “The Crane.”

Grus constellation map courtesy of Openverse

Grus, “The Crane” – The Grus minor constellation is located in the southern hemisphere, and symbolizes “the crane.” Historically, the stars that comprise Grus were part of the constellation Piscis Austrinus. The Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius is credited with establishing the constellation Grus based on the observations made by Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman during the late 16th century. Grus was first documented in a celestial atlas published in 1603, specifically in Johann Bayer’s Uranometria. In the early 17th century, it was briefly referred to by the alternative name Phoenicopterus, which translates to “the flamingo” in Latin.

From Cosmic Spare Tyre to Ethereal Blossom courtesy of Openverse

Key points regarding Grus:

• Meaning: The term “Grus” translates to “The Crane” in Latin. Grus contains Gliese 832 is recognized as one of the six stars in the constellation Grus that host known exoplanets. The remaining stars include HD 208487 (spectral class G2V), WASP-52 (G5IV), HD 213240 (G4IV), HD 215456 (G0.5V), and Tau-1 Gruis (G0IV). Among these, Gliese 832, HD 215456, and HD 208487 each have two known planets, whereas the other three stars are known to have one orbiting planet. The constellation Grus features four stars that have been formally named. The names that have received approval from the International Astronomical Union (IAU) are Aldhanab, Alnair, Itonda, and Tiaki. Grus is part of the Johann Bayer family of constellations, which also includes Apus, Chamaeleon, Dorado, Hydrus, Indus, Musca, Pavo, Phoenix, Tucana, and Volans. Notably, Grus does not contain any Messier objects, and there are no meteor showers linked to this constellation.
• Notable stars: Alnair is the brightest star in its constellation, located about 101 light years from the solar system, with an apparent magnitude of 1.74. Alpha Gruis, a main sequence star or subgiant, has a radius 3.4 times that of the Sun and is 263 times more luminous, aged around 100 million years. It likely has a dust disk due to excess infrared emissions. Beta Gruis is a red giant that is 177 light years away, with a magnitude of 2.146. It varies in brightness and was once part of the Southern Fish constellation. Gamma Gruis, the third brightest in Grus, is 211 light years distant and about 390 times more luminous than the Sun. Delta Gruis is a binary star system, while Tau-1 Gruis is a yellow dwarf with an exoplanet. Gliese 832, a red dwarf located 16.16 light years from Earth, hosts two known exoplanets, including a potentially habitable one.
• Other features: NGC 7424 is a barred spiral galaxy located about 37.5 million light years away, with a diameter of roughly 100,000 light years and notable spiral arms. It has been observed to host two ultraluminous X-ray sources and one supernova, SN 2001ig, which was found in 2001. This Type IIb supernova shows characteristics of both Type II and Type Ib supernovas. There is a binary companion star and NGC 7424 is likely a field galaxy, not gravitationally bound to any group. NGC 7213 is a face-on Seyfert galaxy located approximately 71.7 million light years from the Sun and was discovered in 1834. IC 1459, an elliptical galaxy about 68.8 million light years away, has a fast counter-rotating core and was found in 1892. The Grus Quartet consists of four interacting galaxies, including NGC 7552 and NGC 7590, discovered in the 1820s. Other deep sky objects in Grus include several barred spiral and elliptical galaxies as well as the fast-expanding planetary nebula IC 5148.
• Mythology: There are no legends linked to the constellation. Grus was among the 12 constellations established by Dutch navigators in the late 16th century. The sole association the crane has with mythology is that it was regarded as a sacred bird by the god Hermes. The constellation was formed from stars situated to the south of the constellation Piscis Austrinus. The most luminous star in Grus is named Alnair, which translates to “the bright one from the fish’s tail” in Arabic. Likewise, the proper name of Gamma Gruis, Al Dhanab, also translates to “the tail” in Arabic.
• Visibility: Grus is the 45^th largest constellation, covering 366 square degrees in the celestial sphere. It is situated in the fourth quadrant of the southern hemisphere (SQ4) and is observable at latitudes ranging from +34° to -90°. The constellations that border Grus include Indus, Microscopium, Piscis Austrinus, Phoenix, Sculptor, and Tucana. The name of the constellation, Grus, is pronounced /ˈɡrʌs/. In the English language, it is referred to as the Crane. The genitive form of Grus, which is utilized in the naming of stars, is Gruis (pronunciation: /ˈɡruːɪs/). The three-letter abbreviation, which was officially adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1922, is Gru. Grus features three stars that shine brighter than magnitude 3.00, along with one star that is situated within 10 parsecs (32.6 light years) of our planet. The most luminous star in this constellation is Alnair, designated as Alpha Gruis, which has an apparent magnitude of 1.74 (#30 brightest). The closest star to Earth is Gliese 832 (spectral class M2V), positioned at a mere 16.15 light years away from our planet.

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Constellations:

grus courtesy of Openverse

Constellations of the Month:
October – Grus

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