COSMOS / CONSTELLATIONS / COL
Columba (Dove)
The Dove. IAU abbreviation Col.
STAR CHART
KEY FACTS
- IAU abbreviation
- Col
- Latin name / genitive
- Columba / Columbae
- Position
- Right ascension ≈ 6 h 00 m; declination −43° to −27°
- Visibility from Türkiye
- Visible in full from anywhere in Türkiye. When it crosses the meridian its centre stands about 15° above the horizon from Ankara.
- Best time to observe
- Best placed at 21:00 Türkiye time around 17 February.
- Number of stars
- 68 stars brighter than magnitude 6.5 in the catalogue; 11 brighter than 5 and 5 brighter than 4.
INTERACTIVE LAB
Where is Columba 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 17 February). Change the city to compare the view from elsewhere in Türkiye and around the world.
MYTH, HISTORY AND OBSERVING
Introduced by Plancius in 1592, this constellation represents the dove that Noah released after the Flood. It lies west of Canis Major, close to the southern horizon. Mu Columbae is a “runaway” star ejected from the Orion Nebula region about two million years ago.
BRIGHTEST STARS
| Star | Magnitude | Distance (light-years) | Spectral type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phact | 2.65 | 261 | B7IV |
| Wazn | 3.12 | 87 | K1.5III |
| δ Col | 3.85 | 234 | G7II |
| ε Col | 3.86 | 263 | K1II/III |
| η Col | 3.96 | 472 | K0III |
| γ Col | 4.36 | 870 | B2.5IV |
| κ Col | 4.37 | 183 | G8II |
| ο Col | 4.81 | 106 | K0/K1III/IV |
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.