Properties

The constellation lies south of the Large Magellanic Cloud and shares it with the constellation Dorado further north. Otherwise, the cafeteria is inconspicuous, because the brightest stars are almost 5th size. The area is 153 square degrees and the centre culminates around midnight on December 13th. ^{[9, 15]}

Catalogues

• Yale Bright Star Catalog (HR)
• New General & Index Catalogue (NGC/IC)
• Galactic Planetary Nebulae (PNG)
• Milky Way Globular Clusters
• Principal Galaxies Catalogue (PGC)

History

The constellation was introduced in the middle of the 17th century by Lacaille under the name Mons Mensa in memory of Table Mountain on the Cape of Good Hope in his work "Coelum australe stelliferum". From there he had explored the southern sky. The Big Magellanic Cloud partially protrudes into the cafeteria and may have reminded Lacaille of the earthly clouds that enveloped Table Mountain often enough. ^{[7, 21]}