Volans is a faint constellation in the southern sky, named for the flying fish. It belongs to the group of modern constellations rather than the ancient classical set, and it is known more for its history and symbolism than for bright stars. From the Southern Hemisphere it appears as a small, subtle pattern near other far-southern constellations; from much of the Northern Hemisphere it is low on the horizon or not visible at all.
Origins
The constellation was introduced in the late 16th century by the Dutch cartographer and astronomer Petrus Plancius. He created several southern constellations using observations gathered by Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman, whose work helped Europeans map parts of the sky that had not been well recorded before. In its original form, the name was Piscis Volans, meaning “flying fish,” later shortened to Volans.
Volans appeared on a 35-centimetre celestial globe published in Amsterdam in 1597 or 1598, and it was later included in Johann Bayer’s influential atlas Uranometria of 1603. Its early appearance in both globe and atlas form shows how quickly new southern constellations entered European astronomical tradition during the Age of Exploration.
Characteristics and significance
- Type: modern southern constellation
- Meaning of name: “flying fish”
- General appearance: small and relatively faint
- Best visibility: southern latitudes
Although Volans is not a prominent naked-eye constellation, it is historically important. It represents the transformation of navigational observations into formal sky mapping, and it illustrates the difference between the long-established constellations of antiquity and the newer figures created in early modern astronomy. For that reason, Volans remains a notable example of how the modern celestial map was completed.