Musca

Constellation

Represents a fly, the only official constellation depicting an insect.

Facts

TypeConstellation
Area of sky138 sq°
Brightest starAlpha Muscae
Brightest star magnitudemag 2.69
HemisphereSouthern
Zodiac constellationNo
Discovered1597

Musca in context

A constellation is a pattern drawn on the sky rather than a physical grouping: its stars are usually unrelated and sit at wildly different distances, just lined up as seen from Earth.

Musca covers 138 square degrees of sky, which is 0.3 percent of the whole celestial sphere.

That makes it the 77th largest of the 88 constellations the International Astronomical Union recognises.

It sits in the southern sky.

Its brightest star reaches magnitude 2.69, bright enough to pick out with the naked eye under a dark sky.

Play today's Cosmodle