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Stars and Sticks| Abbreviation | Aps |
|---|---|
| Meaning | Bird of Paradise |
| Pronunciation Guide is based on “Pronouncing Astronomical Names,” published in 1943 by the American Astronomical Society. | APE-us |
| Genitive The genitive is the Latin possessive form used in star names. For example, Alpha Orionis means “the Alpha of Orion.” | ay-POH-dis |
| Best Month | July |
| Visibility | Southern |
| Origin | ExplorationCreated by 16th-century Dutch navigators (Keyser & de Houtman) to fill the blank spaces of the southern sky during their voyages to the East Indies. |
| Author | Keyser & de HoutmanDutch explorers whose southern star observations during the first Dutch expedition to the East Indies provided the data for 12 new constellations. |
| Type | constellation |
| Difficulty | Challenging |
| Description | Created by Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman during their voyage to the East Indies in the 1590s, Apus was named from the Greek 'apous' meaning 'without feet,' reflecting the then-common European misconception that the spectacular Birds of Paradise had no legs and spent their entire lives in eternal flight. Their skins were traded without feet attached, reinforcing this myth. It sits near the South Celestial Pole in a relatively faint region of sky. The brightest star, Alpha Apodis, is an orange giant around 430 light-years away. |
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Images: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/E. Slawik · IAU and Sky & Telescope · Stellarium — Full credits →