Constellation Chart

The Southern Crown

The constellation of Corona Austrina describes an arc with seven or eight stars just south of Sagittarius. The constellation is the opposite of "Corona Borealis", seen around the zenith of night sky in the early summer. Although the Corona Austrina is a little smaller than the Corona Borealis, the constellation has the altitude of meridian transit of only 20 degrees or so at around Tokyo. So the apparent size of the Corona Austrina looks fairly large. The constellation has neither major legends nor myths, but unexpectedly has long history that it was listed in the Ptolemaic constellation in the beginning of AD.

Globular Clusters In Corona Austrina

NGC6541

This cluster is another victim of poor location as seen from the Northern Hemisphere. Located in Corona Australis, NGC 6541 shines at 7th magnitude and is one of the brightest globulars in the sky. It measures 13 ' across, and some of its 13th-magnitude stars with an 8-inch reflector and moderate power can be seen easily.

NGC 6726

NGC 6726 and 6729 in Corona Australis. This area of the sky, close to the richest region of the Milky Way, is filled with interesting objects like these nebulae. The brighter NGC 6726 and smaller 6729 are lit by stars embedded within them. To the left is a dark nebula, known as Bernes 157. The final blue component was taken separately, and in a fairly bright sky, and we plan to repeat this object in Spring 2002

NGC6729

The other variable, TY CrA, is found in NGC 6726, and varies from about 8.8 to 12.6.