Chamaeleon is a small, faint constellation near the south celestial pole, best known for the dark clouds behind it where new stars are forming.
At a glance
| stars in the figure | 5 |
|---|---|
| nearest star of the figure | Alpha Chamaeleontis, 63.8 light-years (19.6 pc) |
| farthest star of the figure | Gamma Chamaeleontis, 418 light-years (128 pc) |
| depth | the farthest is 6.5 × farther than the nearest |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Chamaeleon
Chamaeleon was drawn from the observations of the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman, and given its shape by Petrus Plancius, among the new constellations of the far southern sky. It is a small diamond of faint stars, too close to the pole to be seen from the northern hemisphere, and circumpolar from much of the south.
Its importance lies behind the stars. The Chamaeleon clouds are among the nearest regions of star formation, dark, cold clouds of dust and gas in which young stars are still being born. They show as dark patches against the background of the Milky Way and glow in the infrared, where the dust gives up the heat of the young stars it hides.
What you see in the piece
Fly out with CONSTELLATIONS on: Alpha Chamaeleontis is close to the Sun while Gamma Chamaeleontis lies far behind it. Switch to infrared to see the clouds themselves.
Questions
What is the Chamaeleon cloud?
It is a nearby complex of dark clouds where stars are forming now, seen in the direction of the constellation Chamaeleon.
How far away are the stars of Chamaeleon?
The nearest star of the figure is Alpha Chamaeleontis, 63.8 light-years (19.6 pc) away, and the farthest is Gamma Chamaeleontis, 418 light-years (128 pc).