Ara, A Southern Delight
Ara may be small and it may not compete well with its magnificent neighbours, Scorpius and Sagittarius, when it comes to objects big and bright and abundant… but it really is an astronomer’s delight, for it offers something special for everyone.
Fornax and Antoine Lavoisier
Were Fornax a vapid movie star rather than a constellation, I suspect it might make the same off-beam statement that movie stars make when they want to set some story straight in the press: “It’s an incorrect fact about me, and it’s all over the place”.
Apus, Beautiful Southern Bird
There can be few places more fabulous for bird watching than the Kalahari – by day you lose yourself in an indescribably lovely world of colourful feathers and beautiful sounds… and by night in an indescribably lovely sky of beautiful stars, among which are those that sketch out the lovely bird of paradise.
Circinus and Geometry
Squeezed in between Centaurus’ forefeet and the splendidly geometric Triangulum Australe, Circinus is the constellation that symbolises the greatest language of all… the language of our universe.
Two Mighty Rivers
Like the mighty Orange River that flows through the Kalahari, Eridanus is also a long, gorgeous, meandering river with spectacular riverbanks full of a multitude of galaxies, beautiful stars and mist-shrouded mysteries.
The Enchanting Little Chamaeleon
Chameleons are the most enchanting little creatures, and its no wonder that the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman added a chameleon to their constellations representing exotic animals.
Carina’s Open Clusters
When it comes to open clusters, I think they are the most beautiful objects in the night sky. I can happily spend an entire night observing them. And Carina’s are just gorgeous.
A Voyage on the Argo
The epic voyage of Jason and the Argonauts is one of the greatest stories of heroism, intrigue, betrayal, and tragedy. And it is a story that is retold in the stars, in the fragmented remains of the constellation Argo Navis.