November / December (Usually visible from southern latitudes)
Notes
A small southern constellation in the heart of the Milky Way, southward of Crux and the Coalsack. Beyond the group of stars that make up the (very approximate) shape of the Fly itself lies a field of dark nebulae, including the curious linear structure known as the Dark Doodad Nebula.
Derivation
The origins of Musca are difficult to discern. Like its neighbour Crux, this region of
the sky was originally included within the bounds of the large constellationCentaurus. It acquired a separate identity as Musca the Fly in the late sixteenth century, though for many years that name alternated with Apis the Bee.
Musca lies almost centrally on the band of the Milky Way, and so presents a rich
starfield when viewed through binoculars or a telescope. To the unaided eye, though,
its stars are rather dim. The brightest, the blue Alpha Muscae, is only of magnitude
+2.7, while the Betastar, which is also blue and lies within a few light years of
Alpha, is slightly fainter at magnitude +3.0.
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