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Stars and Sticks| Abbreviation | Cha |
|---|---|
| Meaning | Chameleon |
| Pronunciation Guide is based on “Pronouncing Astronomical Names,” published in 1943 by the American Astronomical Society. | kuh-MEEL-ee-un |
| Genitive The genitive is the Latin possessive form used in star names. For example, Alpha Orionis means “the Alpha of Orion.” | kuh-mee-lee-ON-tis |
| Best Month | April |
| 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 | Expert |
| Description | The Chameleon was created by Dutch navigators Keyser and de Houtman in the 1590s to fill the southern skies with creatures encountered during their tropical voyages. The tiny lizard known for changing color was a natural choice for a region of sky that is equally inconspicuous — the constellation contains no star brighter than magnitude 4. It sits near the south celestial pole and contains the Chamaeleon molecular cloud complex, an active stellar nursery where new stars are currently forming, about 520 light-years away. The brightest star, Alpha Chamaeleontis, is a white star about 64 light-years distant. |
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Images: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/E. Slawik · IAU and Sky & Telescope · Stellarium — Full credits →