Constellation Ara (Altar)
Properties
Ara lies in a star-rich area of the Milky Way south of scorpion's tail. The constellation encloses an area of 237 square degrees and culminates at midnight on June 12th, but is not visible from Europe. [9, 15]
| IAU Name | Ara |
| IAU Genitive | Arae |
| IAU Abbr. | Ara |
| English Name | Altar |
| Culmination at local midnight | 12 June |
| Season (Latitude +46.8°) | [Not visible] |
| Right Ascension (J2000.0) | 16h 34m 17s … 18h 10m 41s |
| Declination (J2000.0) | -67° 41' 26" … -45° 29' 10" |
| Area | 237 deg2 |
| Neighbours (N↻) | Sco, Nor, TrA, Aps, Pav, Tel, CrA |
Deep-Sky Object Descriptions
Catalogues
Mythology and History
Despite its unobtrusive outlines, the constellation was already known to the Greeks and Romans in ancient times. According to legend, Centaurus sacrificed the wolf (Lupus) on this altar. [7] Another explanation saw it the table of the gods. Among the 48 constellations of Ptolemy this appears as the three-legged censer to which he had assigned seven stars. [15]