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Corona Australis
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<a href="/facts/Celestial_coordinate_system/23HhqvHj">Coordinates</a>: <a href="http://www.wikisky.org/?ra=19&de=-40&zoom=2&show_grid=1&show_constellation_lines=1&show_constellation_boundaries=1&show_const_names=1&show_galaxies=1&img_source=IMG_all">19h 00m 00s, −40° 00′ 00″</a> <p>Corona Australis is a <a href="/facts/Constellation/nBQqgW8A">constellation</a> in the <a href="/facts/Southern_Celestial_Hemisphere/PP2aeueF">Southern Celestial Hemisphere</a>. Its Latin name means "southern crown", and it is the southern counterpart of <a href="/facts/Corona_Borealis/oRGTluCe">Corona Borealis</a>, the northern crown. It is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer <a href="/facts/Ptolemy/htudGQTQ">Ptolemy</a>, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations. The Ancient Greeks saw Corona Australis as a wreath rather than a crown and associated it with <a href="/facts/Sagittarius_(constellation)/ljtU4DQ2">Sagittarius</a> or <a href="/facts/Centaurus/NQEDC6xA">Centaurus</a>. Other cultures have likened the pattern to a turtle, ostrich nest, a tent, or even a hut belonging to a <a href="/facts/Rock_hyrax/BdvLSYkH">rock hyrax</a>. </p><p>Although fainter than its northern counterpart, the oval- or horseshoe-shaped pattern of its brighter stars renders it distinctive. <a href="/facts/Alpha_Coronae_Australis/Ny5jbfg5">Alpha</a> and <a href="/facts/Beta_Coronae_Australis/mLaFLTMz">Beta Coronae Australis</a> are the two brightest stars with an apparent magnitude of around 4.1. <a href="/facts/Epsilon_Coronae_Australis/8GauRtwp">Epsilon Coronae Australis</a> is the brightest example of a <a href="/facts/W_Ursae_Majoris_variable/A4Iqf11n">W Ursae Majoris variable</a> in the southern sky. Lying alongside the <a href="/facts/Milky_Way/ulF6lccN">Milky Way</a>, Corona Australis contains one of the closest <a href="/facts/Star_formation/SMyfVDY6">star-forming regions</a> to the <a href="/facts/Solar_System/QIcLSazQ">Solar System</a>—a dusty <a href="/facts/Dark_nebula/6hsTRekq">dark nebula</a> known as the <a href="/facts/Corona_Australis_Molecular_Cloud/DjoGVs0o">Corona Australis Molecular Cloud</a>, lying about 430 light years away. Within it are stars at the earliest stages of their lifespan. The variable stars <a href="/facts/R_Coronae_Australis/qCkM9J1X">R</a> and <a href="/facts/TY_Coronae_Australis/Ngd9tEL2">TY Coronae Australis</a> light up parts of the nebula, which varies in brightness accordingly. </p>