Sections

Catalogues

Show the direction of this region of the sky on the Galactic Map.

Constellation of the southern sky

Genitive	Tucanae
Abbreviation	Tuc
Constellation Family	Bayer
Celestial Quadrants	SQ1, SQ4
Right Ascension	22h09 to 01h25
Declination	-56.3° to -75.4°
Area (sq deg)	295
Brightest Star	Lang-Exster
Optimum Visibility	September / October (usually visible from southern latitudes)
Notes	Tucana is perhaps most easily located by following the line of the River Eridanus southwestward to its southern tip, marked by first-magnitude Achernar, beyond which lies the far southern constellation of the Toucan. Tucana is best known for two important features: the Small Magellanic Cloud and the bright globular cluster 47 Tucanae.

Tucana is not an area of sky filled with bright stars, though Lang-Exster, Alpha Tucanae, reaches a magnitude of +2.85. More important, though, are Tucana's stock of extragalactic objects, including not only the bright globular cluster 47 Tucanae, but also the Small Magellanic Cloud.

v2.1g