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| English name | Altar | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major stars | alpha Arae | magn. 3,0 | RA: 17h 31m 50.56s | Dec: -49° 52' 34.4" | |
| beta Arae | magn. 2,8 | RA: 17h 25m 18.02s | Dec: -55° 31' 47.6" | ||
| gamma Arae | magn. 3,5 | RA: 17h 25m 23.63s | Dec: -56° 22' 39.4" | ||
| zeta Arae | magn. 3,1 | RA: 16h 58m 37.23s | Dec: -55° 59' 24.4" | ||
| Description | Small constellation to the south of Scorpius; it doesn't contain particularly interesting stars. Remarkable are instead NGC 6193, an open cluster formed by about thirty stars (visible with binoculars), and NGC 6397, probably the nearest globular cluster, since it is around 7500 light-years away. |
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| Mythology and history | The constellation represents the altar in front of which the gods solemnly swore to help one another before beginning the battle against the Titans. The Titans were gigantic beings, born by the union of Uranus (the sky) and Gea (the earth): one of them, Chronus, was the father of Zeus and many others gods. After gods' victory, the Titans were imprisoned in the Tartar depths, confined by enormous bronzy doors. | ||||
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