View source for Noctua (constellation)

'''Noctua''' (Latin: ''owl'') was a constellation located near the tail of Hydra in the Southern celestial hemisphere, but is no longer recognized.

== Description ==

It was introduced by Alexander Jamieson in his 1822 work, A Celestial Atlas. and appeared in a derived collection of illustrated cards, Urania's Mirror.

Now designated Asterism a, the owl was composed of the stars 4 Libra and 54–57 Hydra which range from 4th to 6th magnitude.

The French astronomer Pierre Charles Le Monnier had introduced a bird on the water serpent's tail as the constellation Solitaire, named for the extinct flightless bird, the Rodrigues solitaire, but the image was that of a rock thrush which had been classified in the genus Turdus, giving rise to the constellation name Turdus Solitarius, the solitary thrush. 

It has also been depicted as a mockingbird.

The boundaries of the constellation were defined as longitude 0° to 26°30' and from the ecliptic to 15° S.

== See also ==

* [[Astronomy]]
* [[Constellation]]

== External links ==

* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noctua_(constellation) Noctua (constellation)] @ Wikipedia


[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Constellations]]