IAU Chart
NOIRLab Images| Abbreviation | Men |
|---|---|
| Meaning | Table Mountain |
| Pronunciation Guide is based on “Pronouncing Astronomical Names,” published in 1943 by the American Astronomical Society. | MEN-suh |
| Genitive The genitive is the Latin possessive form used in star names. For example, Alpha Orionis means “the Alpha of Orion.” | MEN-see |
| Best Month | January |
| Visibility | Southern |
| Origin | EnlightenmentNamed by Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille in the 1750s; these represent the scientific and artistic tools of the "Age of Reason". |
| Author | LacailleKnown as the "Father of Southern Astronomy," he mapped nearly 10,000 stars and created 14 new constellations in the southern hemisphere. |
| Type | constellation |
| Difficulty | Expert |
| Description | Table Mountain in South Africa is the only geographic feature on Earth to be commemorated with a constellation, named by Lacaille to honor the cape from which he conducted his landmark survey of the southern sky in 1751–1752. Part of the Large Magellanic Cloud's northern edge extends into Mensa's borders — making it the only constellation to contain part of another galaxy. Despite this distinction, Mensa is the faintest constellation in the sky. Its brightest star, Alpha Mensae, is a yellow dwarf remarkably similar to our own Sun, lying just 33 light-years away — one of the nearest solar twins known. |
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Images: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/E. Slawik · IAU and Sky & Telescope · Stellarium — Full credits →