The Constellation Horologium
by Dominic Ford
The constellation Horologium.
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Source: Stellarium.
Source: Stellarium.
Horologium is a small southern constellation which culminates at around midnight in November.
The name ‘Horologium’ is Latin for ‘clock’, and the constellation is usually depicted as a pendulum clock. The name was assigned to this sky area by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1756.
Horologium has only two stars brighter than fifth magnitude, but does have a few deep sky objects of interest, including the globular cluster NGC 1261 and the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1512.
A very much more challenging cluster is Arp-Madore 1, the most distant known globular cluster in orbit around the Milky Way. However, at magnitude 16, a large telescope is needed to see it.
Date First Appeared
1756 (Lacaille)
1756 (Lacaille)
Sky Area
0.6% of the sky
248.9 square degrees
0.6% of the sky
248.9 square degrees
Messier Objects
Horologium contains no Messier objects
Horologium contains no Messier objects
| Stars | Open Clusters | Globular Clusters | Galaxies |
| Stars | Open Clusters | Globular Clusters | Galaxies |
| α-Hor (mag 3.9) | NGC 1252 | NGC 1261 (mag 8.4) | NGC 1433 (mag 10.0) |
| δ-Hor (mag 4.9) | NGC 1512 (mag 10.5) | ||
| β-Hor (mag 5.0) | NGC 1448 (mag 11.5) | ||
| μ-Hor (mag 5.1) | NGC 1527 (mag 11.7) | ||
| ζ-Hor (mag 5.2) | NGC 1493 (mag 11.9) | ||
| ν-Hor (mag 5.3) | NGC 1411 (mag 12.1) | ||
| η-Hor (mag 5.3) | IC 1954 (mag 12.1) | ||
| HD 27588 (mag 5.3) | NGC 1249 (mag 12.2) | ||
| λ-Hor (mag 5.4) | NGC 1494 (mag 12.3) | ||
| ι-Hor (mag 5.4) | IC 1970 (mag 12.4) | ||
| HD 22231 (mag 5.7) | IC 2035 (mag 12.5) | ||
| HD 23719 (mag 5.7) | IC 2000 (mag 12.9) | ||
| γ-Hor (mag 5.8) | IC 1933 (mag 12.9) | ||
| TW Hor (mag 5.8) | NGC 1311 (mag 12.9) | ||
| HD 14641 (mag 5.8) | IC 1959 (mag 13.0) | ||
| HD 20640 (mag 5.8) | NGC 1483 (mag 13.2) | ||
| HD 24706 (mag 5.9) | NGC 1510 (mag 13.2) | ||
| TU Hor (mag 6.0) | IC 1914 (mag 13.3) | ||
| HD 18185 (mag 6.0) | NGC 1495 (mag 13.3) | ||
| HD 19948 (mag 6.1) | NGC 1031 (mag 13.6) | ||
| HD 17254 (mag 6.2) | NGC 1096 (mag 13.8) | ||
| HD 18265 (mag 6.2) | NGC 1136 (mag 13.8) | ||
| HD 16170 (mag 6.3) | NGC 1476 (mag 13.8) | ||
| HD 17326 (mag 6.3) | NGC 1246 (mag 13.9) | ||
| HD 15646 (mag 6.3) | NGC 1244 (mag 13.9) |