
Abbreviation: Â Vol
English Name: Â The Flying Fish
Genitive:Â Volantis
Hemisphere:Â Â Southern Hemisphere
Location:Â Between the constellations of Carina and Mensa.
Visible between latitudes: Â +10 and -90 degrees
Best season: Winter
Seen in three seasons:Â Autumn, Winter and Spring.
Best seen in:Â March
Seen between:Â January and April.
Right Ascension (RA):Â 08 Â hour
Declination (DEC):Â Â +70 degrees
Area (square degrees): Â 141 (76th)
Volans  (The Flying Fish)
- Small and faint constellation lying between Centaurus and the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) – although half of Volans constellation lies in the outer portion of Milky-Way.
- There are no open clusters or globular clusters, nor any diffuse, there are several faint galaxies – only one is brightest (NGC 2422).
Messier Objects
- No Messier objects in Volans.
Features of Interest
- NGC 2442 Â – Â Spiral Galaxy; visible in 4-inch telescopes as just a faint elliptical haze. Â Larger telescopes reveals the central nucleus. (Magnitude: +11.2)
Named Stars
- Gamma Volantis  (attractive double star – reveals orange star & yellow star.)
- Epsilon Volantis  (double star – can be divided with a small telescope.)
Others
- Photo of the constellation;Â Volans, as it appears to the naked eye. (Lines have been added for clarity.)
- Sky Chart  –  Volans
- List of stars in Volans.
Back to The 88 Constellations Lists page.