Chamaeleon+-+Christie-Lopez



The constellation Chamaeleon is a small constellation in the southern sky; it is 79th in size close to the south celestial pole, and was named after the type of lizard called Chamaeleon. It was named this because it blends in with the background of stars behind it, just like Chameleons blend in with what is around them. It was first defined in the 16th century, and was one of the twelve constellations created by Petrus Planicus from the observations of Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser, and Fredrick De Houtman who were observers who mapped the southern sky. (Wikipedia, 2015) “It lies in the 2nd quadrant of the southern hemisphere and can be seen at latitudes between zero degrees, and negative ninety degrees.” (constellation-guide.com) Bordering constellations include Apus, Octans, Mensa, Volans, Musca and Carina. As far as mythology goes, Chamaeleon was unknown to the ancient Greeks and Romans so there was no mythology associated with it. However there is an African myth that states that the Chamaeleon was the first creature to discover humans. Another myth states that the Chamaeleon had an effect on our mortality. According to this myth, the gods had sent a Chamaeleon and a lizard to give a message to the humans. The lizard’s message was that the humans would eventually die, and the Chamaeleon’s was that the humans would live forever. Since the lizard reached the humans first, his message came true. (universetoday.com, 2008) Also, in Australia the constellation Chamaeleon is referred to as the frying pan. There are four bright stars associated with the constellation Chamaeleon. The first one is called Alpha Chamaeleontis, it is a white hued star that has a magnitude of 4.1, and is 6.3 light years away from earth. The second one is called Beta Chamaeleontis, it is a blue-white hued star that has a magnitude of 4.2, and is 27 light years from earth. Lastly, there is Gamma Chamaeleontis, which is a red hued star that has a magnitude of 4.1 and is 413 light years away from earth. ( Wikipedia, 2015) “Chamaeleon also has several binary stars: [2666] delta-1, a close pair of nearly equal stars, [2660] epsilon, another close binary, and [2658] theta Chamaeleontis, a wide binary star.” (topastronomer.com, 2015) There is also a small galaxy within Chamaeleon, it is called NGC 2915 and it is a blue dwarf galaxy located 12 million light years away. This galaxy is a right on the edge of “The Local Group” which is a galaxy group that includes the Milky Way and contains more than 54 other galaxies, which are mostly dwarf galaxies. (Wikipedia, 2015) Chamaeleon is best seen at culmination, which is the reaching of the meridian by a celestial body, during the month of April.