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Constellations:
Corvus the Crow

Gen: Corvi
Abb: Crv
Dec: -11.3° to –24.9°
RA:   11h 54m to12h 54m

Corvus appears as a trapezoid located in the southern area between Leo and Virgo. Corvus is Latin for "crow", and in most cultures the constellation Corvus has been seen as a large bird, most commonly a crow or raven. One exception was the Arabs who saw it as a camel, Al Ajmal, and a tent, Al Hibal al Yamaniyyah. I really do not see either one, but this area of the sky does have a few really good deep sky objects in it.

The ancient Greeks had two main tales to describe how this constellation came about. Both of the tales revolve around Apollo and his favorite pet, a large white bird. Apollo was the Greek god of light, but he has also been, through confusion with Helios, considered to be the god of the sun.

The most common of the two tales is about Apollo sending his pet bird to get him a cup of water. Being a loyal pet, the bird took the cup "Crater" and flew to collect the water. When he reached the river he saw a fig tree about to bear fruit so he waited for the figs to ripen. After eating all the figs that he could, he knew that he was late and that Apollo would be furious. As an excuse for his delay he brought the water snake Hydra back to Apollo in his beak. He tried his best to convince Apollo that the Hydra would not allow him to get the water and that was the reason that he was late returning. Apollo did not believe the bird, and in his rage he turned the bird black and dispatched him into the night sky.

The second tale is about Apollo and Coronis, the daughter of Phlegyas, the King of Lapiths. The tale tells of Apollo having to go to Delphi, to take care of very urgent matters. He left his white crow with instructions to watch over and guard Coronis while he was gone. At this time Coronis was pregnant with Apollo’s child. Very shortly after Apollo had left, Coronis ran to the arms of her lover Ischys. The crow found the two lovers locked in passion and flew off to inform Apollo. When the bird arrived in Delphi, Apollo already knew what had happened and he cursed the bird for not keeping Coronis away from Ischys. As in the tale above the curse turned the crow black, and was used to explain why crows and ravens are black. This last tale was a small part of a much larger story that ties it in with the constellation now known as Ophiuchus.

I did get one other interesting piece of information out of this month’s search of mythology about Apollo. The bright outer layer of gas around the sun, called the corona, got its name from Apollo’s unfaithful lover.

Star Hopping in Corvus

I am starting this month’s hop at Beta (b) Corvus, the southeastern corner of the trapezoid. With Beta in your finderscope move about 2 ½° southeast to find NGC 4590 (M-68). This is a large rich cluster that is actually in the constellation of Hydra. It is a class 10 galactic globular cluster, but the stars in the center are not as tightly packed as in other clusters. In the same eyepiece view you will also find B230, a close double, located 0.6° from M-68.

Return to Beta and move a little over 1° to the northwest to find NGC 4462, an elongated SbIII spiral galaxy. This galaxy has a bright core that is not too hard to locate, even though it is listed as mag. 12.5.

Continue to move northwest until you have both Epsilon (e) Corvus and Alpha(a) Corvus in your finderscope.

Epsilon is the brighter of the two stars and to the north. Move your scope so that Epsilon Corvus is at the southeast edge of your finder. At this point look at the opposite side of your finder for the 5.2 magnitude star, 31 Crateris. 31 Crateris is unique in that it was numbered in one constellation, but is now officially in another.

Center 31 Crateris in your finder and use a low power eyepiece in your scope to locate the interacting galaxies NGC 4038 and NGC4039. These galaxies together are known as the "Ring-Tail Galaxy" or the " Antennae". You will need at least a 6" telescope to get a look at these two galaxies. NGC 4038 is the larger and brighter galaxy, at magnitude 11.48 and is to the north of NGC 4039.

With the Ring-Tail centered, move a little over a ½° to the southwest to locate the peculiar galaxy NGC 4027. One of the books I read talks about this galaxy being a companion to the two above. It is thought that NGC 4027 is moving away, but its mass is being pulled away by the gravity from NGC 4038. Look closely to see if you can make out the one arm from NGC 4027 extending in the direction of the Ring-Tail.

For those of you with large scopes there are two more elliptical galaxies just to the north.

Our next stop is Gienah (pronounced GEE-nah), Gamma (g) Corvi. Gienah is derived from an Arabic name meaning the right wing, but today, in most pictures it is really the left wing. With Gienah slightly off center to the northwest, look along the southeastern edge of your finderscope for the planetary nebula NGC 4361. This is a small misshapen spot of light that is not very easy to find, and it will take at least an 8" scope to give it any shape. Larger scopes may be able to pick out the star in the center.

Move on to Algorab, Delta (d) Corvi the last star making up the trapezoid shape. This star is a wide double star with the primary being a white-yellow 3.0 magnitude star, with a purple companion 24.2 arcsec away at magnitude 9.2. Continue northeast of Algorab passed Eta (h) Corvi and look for a group of three stars that almost point directly at our last hit for this month.

NGC 4694 (M104), the Sombrero Galaxy, is a great galaxy to check out. It looks a lot like a hazy Saturn with its rings edge-on in smaller scopes, but it becomes quite distinct in scopes 10" and larger. The nucleus is very bright and extends out to the east and west. The southern part of the nucleus is bisected by a very black band of dust and gas that makes it a sight worth hunting for.

This month we have hopped all around Corvus the crow and ended on the border of Virgo. I hope you have enjoyed the trip and, weather permitting, I look forward to seeing you at our star parties.

Happy Hopping...Eric

Copyrighted © 2000 by Stockton Astronomical Society
Lasted Updated: 11/20/2000
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