Columba
What is Columba?
Constellations· Winter evenings low south (N) · SW of Canis Major. The dove released from Noah's Ark — created by Plancius in 1592 in the empty sky south of Canis Major. From Korea it skims the winter southern horizon. A short line of stars spreads from Phact like a wing. Look below Sirius in the Sky view.
📍 Visible from where you are right now — computed in your browser
bearing · altitude · rise time · best time tonight
Where Columba is in your sky right now: https://nowsky.org/solar/sky?sel=con:Columba — location and time set automatically, no login.
Stars of the figure
| Star | Magnitude |
|---|---|
| Phact | 2.6 |
The 1 brightest of the 5 stars used in the figure (4 lines). Lower magnitude means brighter.
Constellation basics
| Season | winter evenings, low south (N) |
|---|---|
| Brightest star | Phact (α, 2.6) |
| How to find | south of Lepus, south-west of Sirius |
| Area rank | 88 |
Figures are representative approximations. Source: compiled from NASA and IAU public data.
Frequently asked
- When can I see Columba?
- winter evenings, low south (N).
- How do I find Columba?
- south of Lepus, south-west of Sirius.
- What is the brightest star in Columba?
- Phact, magnitude 2.6.
- Where is Columba in the sky right now?
- Open the sky view for your location and time and it shows the position in the sky right now.
Where the solar system is moving away from — the antapex in Columba
If the solar system is heading toward Hercules, the opposite side of the sky holds the direction we are leaving behind. That point, the solar antapex, lies in Columba. Looking at Columba below Sirius on a winter evening, we face the direction from which we recede at 20 km/s relative to the neighbouring stars, and the stars there appear, very slowly, to draw together.
Near the antapex the proper motions of stars converge toward a point in perspective, but the change is tiny and measurable only over centuries. That Mu Columbae, a star flung out of the Orion Nebula, passes through this constellation is a separate coincidence. Easily overlooked for lack of bright stars, Columba is the constellation the solar system's wake points to, one of two poles of the sky paired with Hercules.
The constellation in depth
Columba was introduced in 1592 by the Dutch cartographer Petrus Plancius. Its original name was "Noah's Dove" — the bird that returned to the Ark with an olive branch to announce the end of the Flood. It filled a previously empty patch of sky south of Canis Major and Lepus.
Phact (Arabic for "ring dove") and Wazn form the body. Mu Columbae is a famous runaway star, flung out of the Orion Nebula region and now crossing the galaxy at over 100 km/s. The globular cluster NGC 1851 is a nice small-telescope target. With few bright stars, it wants a dark sky.
On January–February evenings, drop about 20 degrees south-west of Sirius and Phact appears near the horizon. From Seoul the constellation peaks only around 20 degrees high, so you need an open southern view. In the Sky view, set a winter evening and scan just above the horizon.
Related
Figures are representative approximations. Simulated positions use J2000 mean elements.