Columba Constellation Myths and Facts

Columba: The Dove

Pronunciation: cuh-LUM-buh
Columba, The Dove
Columba as depicted by Johannes Hevelius in his Firmamentum Sobiescianum sive Uranographia (1687). Source image provided by www.RareMaps.com — Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps Inc.
Columba Constellation Profile
Abbreviation: Col Genitive: Columbae
Origin: Plancius Location: Southern Hemisphere
Best View (North): Winter Best View (South):
Bordering Constellations: Pictor, Puppis, Canis Major, Lepus, Caelum

The Myth Behind the Constellation Columba

Sixteenth-century Dutch theologian and mapmaker Petrus Plancius formed Columba, “The Dove”, to represent the Dove sent out by Noah from the Ark to find dry land.  The dove came back with an olive branch held in its beak, a sign that the great flood was subsiding.

Columba Constellation Points of Interest

Interesting stars and objects.

Bright Stars in Columba

These are the stars in Columbas with a minimum magnitude of 3.0.
Name Bayer Name Magnitude Color Luminosity Distance
Phact Alpha Columbae 2.65  Blue-White 1,028 suns 268 ly