COSMOS / CONSTELLATIONS / CAE
Caelum (Chisel)
The Chisel. IAU abbreviation Cae. One of the 14 southern constellations that Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille introduced after observing from the Cape of Good Hope in 1751–1752.
STAR CHART
KEY FACTS
- IAU abbreviation
- Cae
- Latin name / genitive
- Caelum / Caeli
- Position
- Right ascension ≈ 4 h 46 m; declination −47° to −30°
- Visibility from Türkiye
- Visible in full from anywhere in Türkiye. When it crosses the meridian its centre stands about 12° above the horizon from Ankara.
- Best time to observe
- Best placed at 21:00 Türkiye time around 29 January.
- Number of stars
- 20 stars brighter than magnitude 6.5 in the catalogue; 2 brighter than 5 and 0 brighter than 4.
INTERACTIVE LAB
Where is Caelum tonight?
The lab opens for Ankara on today’s date. Drag the time slider through the night; the “Best night” button jumps to the date when the constellation is highest at 21:00 (around 29 January). Change the city to compare the view from elsewhere in Türkiye and around the world.
MYTH, HISTORY AND OBSERVING
One of the faintest constellations, dedicated by Lacaille in 1756 to the engraver’s steel chisel. It has no star brighter than magnitude 4. From Türkiye it lies close to the southern horizon between Eridanus and Columba.
BRIGHTEST STARS
| Star | Magnitude | Distance (light-years) | Spectral type |
|---|---|---|---|
| α Cae | 4.44 | 66 | F2V |
| γ¹ Cae | 4.55 | 181 | K2III |
| β Cae | 5.04 | 94 | F3V |
| δ Cae | 5.07 | 704 | B2IV-V |
| HIP 21958 | 5.66 | 642 | K3III |
| HIP 22573 | 5.82 | 268 | A2/A3V |
| HIP 23446 | 5.92 | 312 | K2III |
| HIP 23377 | 6.02 | 365 | G8III |
Magnitude: apparent brightness; the smaller the number, the brighter the star. Distances derive from parallax measurements and are uncertain for distant stars. Source: HYG v4.1 star catalogue (CC BY-SA 4.0).
SOURCES
Position, visibility and best observing time were computed approximately for this page from the catalogue stars (Ankara, 39.9° N). The 88 constellations were adopted by the IAU in 1922; their boundaries were drawn by Eugène Delporte in 1930.