Centaurus

constellation · southern sky · nearest stars · mythology

Half human, half horse. In Greek mythology, Centaurus represents a centaur, a magical creature that was part human on top and part horse below. Ancient people saw this mythical creature in the pattern of stars.

Our cosmic neighbor. Alpha Centauri is the closest star system to our Solar System, making it humanity's nearest stellar neighbor. Even though it's closer than any other star system, it's still so far away that light takes more than four years to reach us from there.

Brightest star cluster. Omega Centauri is the brightest globular cluster visible from Earth and may be the largest one in the entire Milky Way. Scientists think it might be the leftover core of a smaller galaxy that got captured by our own galaxy long ago.

Gigantic star discovered. HR 5171 is one of the largest stars ever found, so enormous that if you could stand on it, you'd feel almost weightless. It's a hypergiant star that shines much brighter than our Sun.

One of 48 ancient constellations. The astronomer Ptolemy listed Centaurus among the 48 constellations he identified back in the 2nd century. It remains one of the 88 official constellations we recognize today.