View source for Phoenix (constellation)

{{Short description|Minor constellation in the southern sky}}
{{Featured article}}

{{Infobox constellation
| name = Phoenix
| abbreviation = Phe
| genitive = Phoenicis
| pronounce =
  {{plainlist |
* {{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|iː|n|ɪ|k|s}}
* genitive {{IPAc-en|f|ᵻ|ˈ|n|aɪ|s|ᵻ|s}}
  }}
| symbolism = the [[Phoenix (mythology)|Phoenix]]
| RA = {{RA|23|26.5}} to {{RA|02|25.0}}<ref name=boundary/>
| dec =  −39.31° to −57.84°<ref name=boundary/>
| family = [[Bayer Family|Bayer]]
| quadrant = SQ1
| areatotal = 469
| arearank = 37th
| numbermainstars = 4
| numberbfstars = 25
| numberstarsplanets = 10
| numberbrightstars = 1
| numbernearbystars = 1
| brighteststarname = [[Alpha Phoenicis|α Phe]] (Ankaa)
| starmagnitude = 2.40
| neareststarname = [[Gliese 915]]
| stardistancely = 27.24
| stardistancepc = 8.35
| numbermessierobjects = 0
| meteorshowers = [[Phoenicids]]
| bordering =
  {{plainlist |
* [[Sculptor (constellation)|Sculptor]]
* [[Grus (constellation)|Grus]]
* [[Tucana]]
* [[Hydrus]] (corner)
* [[Eridanus (constellation)|Eridanus]]
* [[Fornax]]
  }}
| latmax = [[32nd parallel north|32]]
| latmin = [[90th parallel south|90]]
| month = November
| notes = 
}}

'''Phoenix''' is a minor [[constellation]] in the [[southern sky]]. Named after the mythical [[Phoenix (mythology)|phoenix]], it was first depicted on a celestial atlas by [[Johann Bayer]] in his 1603 ''[[Uranometria]]''. The French explorer and astronomer [[Nicolas Louis de Lacaille]]  charted the brighter stars and gave their [[Bayer designation]]s in 1756. The constellation stretches from roughly −39° to −57° [[declination]], and from 23.5h to 2.5h of [[right ascension]]. The constellations Phoenix, [[Grus (constellation)|Grus]], [[Pavo (constellation)|Pavo]] and [[Tucana]], are known as the Southern Birds.

The brightest star, [[Alpha Phoenicis]], is named Ankaa, an [[Arabic]] word meaning 'the Phoenix'. It is an orange giant of apparent magnitude 2.4. Next is [[Beta Phoenicis]], actually a [[Binary star|binary]] system composed of two yellow giants with a combined apparent magnitude of 3.3. [[Nu Phoenicis]] has a dust disk, while the constellation has ten star systems with known planets and the recently discovered [[galaxy cluster]]s [[El Gordo (galaxy cluster)|El Gordo]] and the [[Phoenix Cluster]]—located 7.2 and 5.7 billion light years away respectively, two of the largest objects in the [[visible universe]]. Phoenix is the [[radiant (meteor shower)|radiant]] of two annual [[meteor shower]]s: the [[Phoenicids]] in December, and the July Phoenicids.

==History==

[[File:Phoenix in Doppelmayr's Atlas Coelestis.jpg|250px|thumbnail|left|The constellation Phoenix as depicted in [[Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr]]'s ''Atlas Coelestis'', ca. 1742]]
[[File:Johann Bayer - Uraniometria - Southern Birds.jpg|thumb|250px|The "southern birds", as depicted in [[Johann Bayer]]'s ''[[Uranometria]]''. Phoenix is on the lower left.]]
Phoenix was the largest of the 12 constellations established by [[Petrus Plancius]] from the observations of [[Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser]] and [[Frederick de Houtman]]. It first appeared on a 35-cm diameter celestial globe published in 1597 (or 1598) in Amsterdam by Plancius with [[Jodocus Hondius]]. The first depiction of this constellation in a celestial atlas was in [[Johann Bayer]]'s ''[[Uranometria]]'' of 1603.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/bayer-southern.html | title=Bayer's Southern Star Chart |author=Ridpath, Ian |author-link=Ian Ridpath|publisher=self-published | access-date= August 15, 2013}}</ref> De Houtman included it in his southern star catalog the same year under the Dutch name ''Den voghel Fenicx'', "The Bird Phoenix",<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/startales1c.html#houtman | title=Frederick de Houtman's catalogue |author=Ridpath, Ian|publisher=self-published | access-date= August 15, 2013}}</ref> symbolising the [[Phoenix (mythology)|phoenix]] of classical mythology.<ref name=ridpathphe>{{cite web| url=http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/phoenix.html | title=Phoenix – the Phoenix |author=Ridpath, Ian |publisher=self-published | access-date= August 18, 2013}}</ref> One name of the brightest star [[Alpha Phoenicis]]—Ankaa—is derived from the {{Langx|ar|العنقاء|translit=al-‘anqā’|lit=the phoenix}}, and was coined sometime after 1800 in relation to the constellation.<ref>{{cite book| author= Kunitsch, Paul| author2= Smart, Tim |date= 2006 |title=A Dictionary of Modern Star names: A Short Guide to 254 Star Names and Their Derivations |publisher=Sky Publishing Corp |location= Cambridge, Massachusetts |page=49 |isbn=978-1-931559-44-7}}</ref>

Celestial historian Richard Allen noted that unlike the other constellations introduced by Plancius and [[La Caille]], Phoenix has actual precedent in ancient astronomy, as the Arabs saw this formation as representing young ostriches, ''Al Ri'āl'', or as a griffin or eagle.<ref name=allen/> In addition, the same group of stars was sometimes imagined by the Arabs as a boat, ''Al Zaurak'', on the nearby river Eridanus.<ref name="motz"/> He observed, "the introduction of a Phoenix into modern astronomy was, in a measure, by adoption rather than by invention."<ref name=allen/>

The Chinese incorporated Phoenix's brightest star, Ankaa (Alpha Phoenicis), and stars from the adjacent constellation [[Sculptor (constellation)|Sculptor]] to depict ''Bakui'', a net for catching birds.<ref name=ridpathphe/> Phoenix and the neighbouring constellation of [[Grus (constellation)|Grus]] together were seen by [[Julius Schiller]] as portraying [[Aaron]] the High Priest.<ref name=allen/> These two constellations, along with nearby [[Pavo (constellation)|Pavo]] and [[Tucana]], are called the Southern Birds.<ref name="binocs">{{cite book|last=Moore, Patrick|title=Exploring the Night Sky with Binoculars|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, United Kingdom|date=2000|pages=48|isbn=978-0521793902|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jvbtl2Vyxm4C&q=phoenix+pavo+grus+tucana&pg=PA48}}</ref>

==Characteristics==
Phoenix is a small constellation bordered by [[Fornax]] and Sculptor to the north, Grus to the west, Tucana to the south, touching on the corner of [[Hydrus]] to the south, and [[Eridanus (constellation)|Eridanus]] to the east and southeast. The bright star [[Achernar]] is nearby.<ref name=klepesta>{{cite book|last=Klepešta|first=Josef|author2=Rükl, Antonín|title=Constellations|publisher=Hamlyn|date=1974|orig-year=1969|pages=[https://archive.org/details/constellationsco0000klep/page/214 214–15]|isbn=978-0-600-00893-4|url=https://archive.org/details/constellationsco0000klep/page/214}}</ref> The three-letter abbreviation for the constellation, as adopted by the [[International Astronomical Union]] in 1922, is "Phe".<ref name=pa30_469>{{cite journal | last=Russell | first=Henry Norris |author-link=Henry Norris Russell | title=The new international symbols for the constellations | journal=[[Popular Astronomy (US magazine)|Popular Astronomy]] | volume=30 | pages=469–71| bibcode=1922PA.....30..469R | date=1922 }}</ref> The official constellation boundaries, as set by Belgian astronomer [[Eugène Joseph Delporte|Eugène Delporte]] in 1930, are defined by a polygon of 10 segments. In the [[equatorial coordinate system]], the [[right ascension]] coordinates of these borders lie between {{RA|23|26.5}} and {{RA|02|25.0}}, while the [[declination]] coordinates are between −39.31° and −57.84°.<ref name=boundary>{{Cite journal | title=Phoenix, constellation boundary | journal=The Constellations | publisher=International Astronomical Union | url=https://www.iau.org/public/themes/constellations/#phe | access-date=23 August 2012 | archive-date=4 June 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130604014156/https://www.iau.org/public/themes/constellations/#phe | url-status=dead }}</ref> This means it remains below the horizon to anyone living north of the [[40th parallel north|40th parallel]] in the [[Northern Hemisphere]], and remains low in the sky for anyone living north of the [[equator]]. It is most visible from locations such as Australia and South Africa during late [[Southern Hemisphere]] spring.<ref name="motz"/> Most of the constellation lies within, and can be located by, forming a triangle of the bright stars Achernar, [[Fomalhaut]] and [[Beta Ceti]]—Ankaa lies roughly in the centre of this.<ref name="heifetz">{{cite book|author=Heifetz, Milton|author2=Tirion, Wil |author2-link=Wil Tirion |title=A Walk Through the Southern Sky: A Guide to Stars and Constellations and Their Legends|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, United Kingdom|date=2007|pages=30–31|isbn=978-1139461382|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L3PIyHY5hSAC&q=phoenix+constellation}}</ref>

==Features==
[[Image:Constellation Phoenix.jpg|thumb|256px|The constellation Phoenix as it can be seen by the naked eye]]

===Stars===
{{Further|List of stars in Phoenix}}
A curved line of stars comprising Alpha, [[Kappa Phoenicis|Kappa]], [[Mu Phoenicis|Mu]], [[Beta Phoenicis|Beta]], [[Nu Phoenicis|Nu]] and [[Gamma Phoenicis]] was seen as a boat by the ancient Arabs.<ref name=allen>{{cite book
 |date             = 1963
 |orig-year         = 1899
 |title            = Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning
 |edition          = [[Reprint]]
 |publisher        = [[Dover Publications]] Inc.
 |location         = [[New York City|New York]], [[New York (state)|NY]]
 |url              = https://archive.org/details/starnamestheirlo00alle
 |url-access       = registration
 |quote            = star names meaning phoenix.
 |isbn             = ((978-0-486-21079-7))
 |pages            = [https://archive.org/details/starnamestheirlo00alle/page/335 335]–36
 |author1          = Allen
 |author2          = Richard Hinckley
 |author-link1      = Richard Hinckley Allen
}}{{dead link|date=October 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> French explorer and astronomer [[Nicolas Louis de Lacaille]] charted and designated 27 stars with the [[Bayer designation]]s Alpha through to Omega in 1756. Of these, he labelled two stars close together Lambda, and assigned Omicron, Psi and Omega to three stars, which subsequent astronomers such as [[Benjamin Apthorp Gould|Benjamin Gould]] felt were too dim to warrant their letters. A different star was subsequently labelled Psi Phoenicis, while the other two designations fell out of use.<ref name=wagman>{{cite book  | last = Wagman  | first = Morton  | date = 2003  | title = Lost Stars: Lost, Missing and Troublesome Stars from the Catalogues of Johannes Bayer, Nicholas Louis de Lacaille, John Flamsteed, and Sundry Others  | publisher = The McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company  | location = Blacksburg, [[Virginia|VA]]  | isbn = 978-0-939923-78-6 |pages=203–04}}</ref>

Ankaa is the brightest star in the constellation.  It is an orange giant of [[apparent visual magnitude]] 2.37 and [[Stellar classification|spectral type]] K0.5IIIb,<ref>{{cite web |url = http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=Alpha+Phoenicis&NbIdent=1&Radius=2&Radius.unit=arcmin&submit=submit+id |title = Alpha Phoenicis |work = SIMBAD Astronomical Database|publisher=Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg |access-date = 25 August 2012}}</ref> 77 light years distant from Earth and orbited by a secondary object about which little is known.<ref name="kaleralpha">{{cite web|url=http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/ankaa.html |title=Ankaa |last=Kaler|first=Jim|author-link= James B. Kaler |work=Stars|publisher=University of Illinois|access-date=24 August 2012}}</ref> Lying close by Ankaa is [[Kappa Phoenicis]], a [[main sequence]] star of spectral type A5IVn and apparent magnitude 3.90.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=Kappa+Phoenicis&NbIdent=1&Radius=2&Radius.unit=arcmin&submit=submit+id |title = Kappa Phoenicis |work = SIMBAD Astronomical Database|publisher=Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg |access-date = 25 August 2012}}</ref> Located centrally in the asterism,<ref name="motz">{{cite book|last=Motz|first=Lloyd|author2=Nathanson, Carol|title=The Constellations: An Enthusiast's Guide to the Night Sky|publisher=Aurum Press|location=London, United Kingdom|date=1991|pages=371–72|isbn=978-1-85410-088-7}}</ref> [[Beta Phoenicis]] is the second brightest star in the constellation and another [[binary star]]. Together the stars, both yellow giants of spectral type G8, shine with an apparent magnitude of 3.31, though the components are of individual apparent magnitudes of 4.0 and 4.1 and orbit each other every 168 years.<ref name="kalerbeta">{{cite web|url=http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/betaphe.html |title=Beta Phoenicis |last=Kaler|first=Jim|work=Stars|publisher=University of Illinois|access-date=24 August 2012}}</ref> [[Zeta Phoenicis]] or ''Wurren''<ref name="IAU-LSN">{{cite web | url=https://www.iau.org/public/themes/naming_stars/ | title=Naming Stars | publisher=IAU.org | access-date=16 December 2017 | archive-date=11 April 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411104839/https://www.iau.org/public/themes/naming_stars/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> is an [[Algol variable|Algol]]-type [[Binary star#Eclipsing binaries|eclipsing binary]], with an [[apparent magnitude]] fluctuating between 3.9 and 4.4 with a period of around 1.7 days (40 hours); its dimming results from the component two blue-white B-type stars, which orbit and block out each other from Earth. The two stars are 0.05 AU from each other, while a third star is around 600 AU away from the pair, and has an orbital period exceeding 5000 years.<ref name="kalerzeta">{{cite web|url=http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/zetaphe.html |title=Zeta Phoenicis |last=Kaler|first=Jim|work=Stars|publisher=University of Illinois|access-date=18 June 2013}}</ref> The system is around 300 light years distant.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=zeta+phe&NbIdent=1&Radius=2&Radius.unit=arcmin&submit=submit+id |title = Zeta Phoenicis – Eclipsing binary of Algol type (detached) |work = SIMBAD Astronomical Database|publisher=Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg |access-date = 4 September 2013}}</ref> In 1976, researchers Clausen, Gyldenkerne, and Grønbech calculated that a nearby 8th magnitude star is a fourth member of the system.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Grønbech|date=1976|title= Four-color photometry of eclipsing binaries. IIIb: Zeta Phoenicis, analysis of light curves and determination of absolute dimensions|journal= Astronomy and Astrophysics|volume=46|pages=205–12|bibcode=1976A&A....46..205C|first1=K.|last2=Gyldenkerne|first2=K.|last3=Grønbech|first3=B.}}</ref>

AI Phe is an eclipsing binary star identified in 1972. Its long mutual eclipses and combination of spectroscopic and astrometric data allows precise measurement of the masses and radii of the stars<ref>{{cite journal |last=Maxted |first=P.F.L |date=2020 |title=The TESS light curve of AI Phoenicis |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |volume=498 |pages=332–343 |doi=10.1093/mnras/staa1662 |doi-access=free |arxiv=2003.09295|s2cid=214605785 }}</ref> which is viewed as a potential cross-check on stellar properties and distances independent on Ceiphid Variables and such techniques. The long eclipse events require space-based observations to avoid Solar interference.
Gamma Phoenicis is a [[red giant]] of spectral type M0IIIa<ref>{{cite web |url = http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=Gamma+Phoenicis&NbIdent=1&Radius=2&Radius.unit=arcmin&submit=submit+id |title = Gamma Phoenicis |work = SIMBAD Astronomical Database|publisher=Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg |access-date = 25 August 2012}}</ref> and varies between magnitudes 3.39 and 3.49. It lies 235 light years away.<ref name="kalergamma">{{cite web|url=http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/gammaphe.html |title=Gamma Phoenicis |last=Kaler|first=Jim|work=Stars|publisher=University of Illinois|access-date=23 August 2012}}</ref> [[Psi Phoenicis]] is another red giant, this time of spectral type M4III,<ref name="simbadpsi">{{cite web |url = http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-basic?Ident=Psi+Phoenicis&submit=SIMBAD+search |title = Psi Phoenicis – Semi-regular pulsating Star |work = SIMBAD Astronomical Database|publisher=Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg |access-date = 12 May 2013}}</ref> and has an apparent magnitude that ranges between 4.3 and 4.5 over a period of around 30 days.<ref name="bagnall">{{cite book |last=Bagnall |first=Philip M. |title=The Star Atlas Companion: What You Need to Know about the Constellations |publisher=Springer  |location=New York, New York |date=2012 |isbn=978-1-4614-0830-7 |pages=359–61|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KcIg02TKW6QC&q=Phoenix+constellation&pg=PA359}}</ref> Lying 340 light years away,<ref name="simbadpsi" /> it has around 85 times the diameter, but only 85% of the mass, of the Sun.<ref>{{cite journal | author=Neilson, Hilding R. | author2=Lester, John B. | date=2008 | title=Determining parameters of cool giant stars by modeling spectrophotometric and interferometric observations using the SAtlas program | journal=  Astronomy and Astrophysics  | volume=490|issue=2 | pages=807–10 | bibcode=2008A&A...490..807N | doi=10.1051/0004-6361:200810627|arxiv = 0809.1875 | s2cid=1586125 }}</ref> [[W Phoenicis]] is a [[Mira variable]], ranging from magnitude 8.1 to 14.4 over 333.95 days. A red giant, its spectrum ranges between M5e and M6e.<ref name="Wvar">{{cite web |url = http://www.aavso.org/vsx/index.php?view=detail.top&oid=26218 |title = W Phe |publisher = American Association of Variable Star Observers |work = International Variable Star Index |access-date = 19 June 2013 |date = 4 January 2010}}</ref> Located 6.5 degrees west of Ankaa is [[SX Phoenicis]], a variable star which ranges from magnitude 7.1 to 7.5 over a period of a mere 79 minutes. Its spectral type varies between A2 and F4.<ref name="burnham">{{cite book  |author = Burnham, Robert Jr. |author-link=Robert Burnham Jr. |title = Burnham's Celestial Handbook  |volume = III  |date = 1978 |publisher = Dover  |location = New York, New York  |isbn = 978-0-486-24065-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PJzIt3SIlkUC&q=%22SX+Phoenicis%22&pg=PA1456  |pages = 1455–57}}</ref> It gives its name to a group of stars known as [[SX Phoenicis variable]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Landes|first1=H. |last2=Bambery|first2=K. R. |last3=Coates|first3=D. W. |last4=Thompson|first4=K. |date=2007|title=Long-Term Changes in the Periods of SX Phe|journal=Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia|volume=24|issue=1 |pages=41–45|url=http://www.publish.csiro.au/?act=view_file&file_id=AS06025.pdf|bibcode = 2007PASA...24...41L |doi = 10.1071/AS06025 |s2cid=122809222 |doi-access=free}}</ref> [[Rho Phoenicis|Rho]] and [[BD Phoenicis]] are [[Delta Scuti variable]]s—short period (six hours at most) pulsating stars that have been used as [[Cosmic distance ladder#Standard candles|standard candles]] and as subjects to study [[astroseismology]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aavso.org/vsots_delsct|title=Delta Scuti and the Delta Scuti Variables|last=Templeton|first=Matthew |date=16 July 2010|work=Variable Star of the Season|publisher=AAVSO (American Association of Variable Star Observers)|access-date=19 June 2013}}</ref> Rho is spectral type F2III,<ref>{{cite web |url = http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=Rho+Phoenicis&NbIdent=1&Radius=2&Radius.unit=arcmin&submit=submit+id |title = V* rho Phe&nbsp;– Variable Star of delta Sct type |work = SIMBAD Astronomical Database|publisher=Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg |access-date = 26 August 2012}}</ref> and ranges between magnitudes 5.20 and 5.26 over a period of 2.85 hours.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.aavso.org/vsx/index.php?view=detail.top&oid=26332 |title = Rho Phe |publisher = AAVSO |work = International Variable Star Index |access-date = 18 June 2013 |date = 4 January 2010}}</ref> BD is of spectral type A1V,<ref>{{cite web |url = http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-basic?Ident=BD+Phe&submit=SIMBAD+search |title = V* BD Phe&nbsp;– Variable Star of delta Sct type |work = SIMBAD Astronomical Database|publisher=Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg |access-date =18 June 2013}}</ref> and ranges between magnitudes 5.90 and 5.94.<ref>{{cite web |url =http://www.aavso.org/vsx/index.php?view=detail.top&oid=26294 |title = BD Phe |publisher = AAVSO |work = International Variable Star Index |access-date = 18 June 2013 |date = 4 January 2010}}</ref>

[[Nu Phoenicis]] is a yellow-white main sequence star of spectral type F9V and magnitude 4.96.<ref>{{cite web |url =http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-basic?Ident=HD+7570&submit=SIMBAD+search |title = LHS 1220 – High proper-motion Star |work = SIMBAD Astronomical Database|publisher=Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg |access-date = 11 May 2013}}</ref> Lying some 49 light years distant, it is around 1.2 times as massive as the Sun,<ref>{{cite journal|author=Zechmeister, M.|display-authors=4|author2=Kürster, M.|author3=Endl, M.|author4=Lo Curto, G.|author5= Hartman, H.|author6=  Nilsson, H.|author7=   Henning, T.|author8=    Hatzes, A. P.|author9=    Cochran, W. D. | date=2013|title=The planet search programme at the ESO CES and HARPS. IV. The search for Jupiter analogues around solar-like stars|journal=Astronomy & Astrophysics|volume=552|pages=A78|doi=10.1051/0004-6361/201116551|arxiv = 1211.7263 |bibcode = 2013A&A...552A..78Z |s2cid=53694238}}</ref> and likely to be surrounded by a disk of dust.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Maldonado|first1=J. |display-authors=4 |last2=Eiroa|first2=C. |last3=Villaver|first3=E. |last4=Montesinos|first4=B. |last5=Mora|first5=A. |date=2012|title=Metallicity of solar-type stars with debris discs and planets|journal=Astronomy & Astrophysics|doi=10.1051/0004-6361/201218800|volume=541|pages=A40|arxiv = 1202.5884 |bibcode = 2012A&A...541A..40M |s2cid=46328823 }}</ref> It is the closest star in the constellation that is visible with the unaided eye.<ref name="bagnall" /> [[Gliese 915]] is a [[white dwarf]] only 26 light years away. It is of magnitude 13.05, too faint to be seen with the naked eye.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=Gliese+915 |title = GJ 915&nbsp;– White Dwarf |work = SIMBAD Astronomical Database|publisher=Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg |access-date = 26 August 2012}}</ref> White dwarfs are extremely dense stars compacted into a volume the size of the Earth.<ref name="osln">{{cite web |last=Johnson |first=J. |date=2007 |url=http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~jaj/Ast162/lectures/notesWL22.html |title=Extreme Stars: White Dwarfs & Neutron Stars |work=Lecture notes, Astronomy 162 |publisher=[[Ohio State University]] |access-date=17 August 2013 |archive-date=15 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191115223455/http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~jaj/Ast162/lectures/notesWL22.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> With around 85% of the mass of the Sun, Gliese 915 has a [[surface gravity]] of 10<sup>8.39 ± 0.01</sup> (2.45 · 10<sup>8</sup>) [[centimetre|cm]]·[[second|s]]<sup>−2</sup>, or approximately 250,000 of [[Earth's gravity|Earth's]].<ref name="Subasavage2009">{{cite journal | last=Subasavage |first=John P. |display-authors=4 |author2=Jao |author3=Henry |author4=Bergeron |author5=Dufour |author6=Ianna |author7=Costa |author8= Mendez  | date=2009 | title=The Solar Neighbourhood. XXI. Parallax Results from the CTIOPI 0.9 m Program: 20 New Member of the 25 Parsec White Dwarf Sample | journal=[[The Astronomical Journal]] | volume=137 | pages=4547–60 | bibcode= 2009AJ....137.4547S| doi=10.1088/0004-6256/137/6/4547 | issue=6|arxiv=0902.0627 |s2cid=14696597 }}</ref>

Ten stars have been found to have planets to date, and four planetary systems have been discovered with the [[SuperWASP]] project. [[HD 142]] is a yellow giant that has an apparent magnitude of 5.7, and has a planet ([[HD 142 b]]) 1.36 times the mass of Jupiter which orbits every 328 days.<ref name="kalerhr6">{{cite web|url=http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/hr6.html |title=HR 6 Phoenicis |last=Kaler|first=Jim|work=Stars|publisher=University of Illinois|access-date=24 August 2012}}</ref> [[HD 2039]] is a yellow subgiant with an apparent magnitude of 9.0 around 330 light years away which has a planet ([[HD 2039 b]]) six times the mass of Jupiter. [[WASP-18]] is a star of magnitude 9.29 which was discovered to have a hot Jupiter-like planet ([[WASP-18b]]) taking less than a day to orbit the star.<ref name="disc">{{cite journal | title = An orbital period of 0.94 days for the hot-Jupiter planet WASP-18b  | journal = [[Nature (journal)|Nature]]  | volume = 460  | issue = 7259  | pages = 1098–1100  | date = 2009  | doi = 10.1038/nature08245  | pmid = 19713926  | last1 = Hellier  | first1 = Coel | display-authors = 4 | last2 = Anderson  | first2 = D.R.  | last3 = Cameron  | first3 = A. Collier | last4 = Gillon  | first4 = M.  | last5 = Hebb  | first5 = L.  | last6 = Maxted  | first6 = P.F.  | last7 = Queloz | first7 = D.  | last8 = Smalley  | first8 = B.  | last9 = Triaud  | first9 = A.H. |bibcode = 2009Natur.460.1098H | last10 = West | first10 = R. G. | last11 = Wilson | first11 = D. M. | last12 = Bentley | first12 = S. J. | last13 = Enoch | first13 = B. | last14 = Horne | first14 = K. | last15 = Irwin | first15 = J. | last16 = Lister | first16 = T. A. | last17 = Mayor | first17 = M. | last18 = Parley | first18 = N. | last19 = Pepe | first19 = F. | last20 = Pollacco | first20 = D. L. | last21 = Segransan | first21 = D. | last22 = Udry | first22 = S. | last23 = Wheatley | first23 = P. J.| hdl = 2268/28276 | s2cid = 205217669 | url = http://orbi.ulg.ac.be/handle/2268/28276 | hdl-access = free }}</ref> The planet is suspected to be causing WASP-18 to appear older than it really is.<ref>{{cite web|title=NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory Finds Planet That Makes Star Act Deceptively Old|url=http://chandra.harvard.edu/press/14_releases/press_091614.html|website=Chandra X-ray Observatory|access-date=20 September 2014}}</ref> [[WASP-4]] and [[WASP-5]] are solar-type yellow stars around 1000 light years distant and of 13th magnitude, each with a single planet larger than Jupiter.<ref name="metrics">{{cite journal | title=Improved parameters for the transiting hot Jupiters WASP-4b and WASP-5b | last1=Gillon | first1=M. | journal=[[Astronomy and Astrophysics]] | url=http://www.aanda.org/index.php?option=article&access=standard&Itemid=129&url=/articles/aa/abs/2009/10/aa10929-08/aa10929-08.html | volume=496 | issue=1 | date=2009 | pages=259–67 | doi=10.1051/0004-6361:200810929 | display-authors=4 | last2=Smalley | first2=B. | last3=Hebb | first3=L. | last4=Anderson | first4=D. R. | last5=Triaud | first5=A. H. M. J. | last6=Hellier | first6=C. | last7=Maxted | first7=P. F. L. | last8=Queloz | first8=D. | last9=Wilson | first9=D. M. | bibcode=2009A&A...496..259G | arxiv=0812.1998 | s2cid=53606165 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100408055411/http://www.aanda.org/index.php?option=article&access=standard&Itemid=129&url=%2Farticles%2Faa%2Fabs%2F2009%2F10%2Faa10929-08%2Faa10929-08.html | archive-date=2010-04-08 }}</ref> [[WASP-29]] is an orange dwarf of spectral type K4V and visual magnitude 11.3, which has a planetary companion of similar size and mass to Saturn. The planet completes an orbit every 3.9 days.<ref>{{cite journal|title=WASP-29b: A Saturn-sized transiting exoplanet|journal=The Astrophysical Journal Letters |volume=723|issue=1|date=2010| pages=L60–63 |doi=10.1088/2041-8205/723/1/L60|last1=Hellier|first1=Coel|display-authors=4|last2=Anderson|first2=D. R.|last3=Collier Cameron|first3=A.|last4=Gillon|first4=M.|last5=Lendl|first5=M.|last6=Maxted|first6=P. F. L.|last7=Queloz|first7=D.|last8=Smalley|first8=B.|last9=Triaud|first9=A. H. M. J.|last10=West|first10=R. G.|last11=Brown|first11=D. J. A.|last12=Enoch|first12=B.|last13=Lister|first13=T. A.|last14=Pepe|first14=F.|last15=Pollacco|first15=D.|last16=Ségransan|first16=D.|last17=Udry|first17=S.|arxiv = 1009.5318 |bibcode = 2010ApJ...723L..60H |s2cid=64119308 }}</ref>

[[List of brown dwarfs|WISE J003231.09-494651.4]] and [[List of brown dwarfs|WISE J001505.87-461517.6]] are two [[brown dwarf]]s discovered by the [[Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer]], and are 63 and 49 light years away respectively.<ref name="Kirkpatrick2012">{{cite journal | last1=Kirkpatrick |first1=J. Davy  | display-authors=4  |last2=Gelino |first2=Christopher R.  |last3=Cushing  |first3=Michael C.  |last4=Mace  |first4=Gregory N.  |last5=Griffith  |first5=Roger L.  |last6=Skrutskie  |first6=Michael F.  |last7=Marsh  |first7=Kenneth A.  |last8=Wright  |first8=Edward L.  |last9=Eisenhardt  |first9=Peter R.  |last10=McLean  |first10=Ian S.  |last11=Mainzer  |first11=Amanda K.  |last12=Burgasser  |first12=Adam J.  |last13=Tinney  |first13=C. G.  |last14=Parker  |first14=Stephen  |last15=Salter  |first15=Graeme |title=Further Defining Spectral Type "Y" and Exploring the Low-mass End of the Field Brown Dwarf Mass Function | date=2012 | journal=[[The Astrophysical Journal]] | volume=753 | issue=2 | page=156 | arxiv=1205.2122 | doi=10.1088/0004-637X/753/2/156 | bibcode=2012ApJ...753..156K |s2cid=119279752 }}</ref> Initially hypothesised before they were belatedly discovered,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.star.le.ac.uk/research/brown.html |title=Brown Dwarfs and Low Mass Stars |author=Jameson, R.F. |author2=Hodgkin, S.T. |date=1997 |work=Brown Dwarfs |publisher=University of Leicester |access-date=16 August 2013 |location=Leicester, United Kingdom |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602112128/http://www.star.le.ac.uk/research/brown.html |archive-date=2 June 2013 }}</ref> brown dwarfs are objects more massive than planets, but which are of insufficient mass for [[Nuclear fusion|hydrogen fusion]] characteristic of stars to occur. Many are being found by sky surveys.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wise.ssl.berkeley.edu/science_browndwarfs.html|title=Science: Brown Dwarfs|date=31 August 2011|work=Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer|publisher=NASA|access-date=16 August 2013}}</ref>

Phoenix contains [[HE0107-5240]], possibly one of the oldest stars yet discovered. It has around 1/200,000 the [[metallicity]] that the Sun has and hence must have formed very early in the history of the universe.<ref name=eso0228>{{cite web|url=http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso0228/|title=A Glimpse of the Young Milky Way: VLT UVES Observes Most Metal-Deficient Star Known|last=Christlieb |first=Norbert |date=30 October 2002|publisher=European Southern Observatory|access-date=26 July 2013}}</ref> With a visual magnitude of 15.17,<ref>{{cite web |url = http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=he0107-5240&jsessionid=0EDA2E0DFEC2D586F900A47528787A64 |title = 2MASS J01092916-5224341&nbsp;– Carbon Star |work = SIMBAD Astronomical Database|publisher=Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg |access-date = 17 August 2013}}</ref> it is around 10,000 times dimmer than the faintest stars visible to the naked eye and is 36,000 light years distant.<ref name=eso0228/>

===Deep-sky objects===
The constellation does not lie on the [[galactic plane]] of the Milky Way, and there are no prominent star clusters.<ref name="klepesta" /> [[NGC 625]] is a dwarf [[irregular galaxy]] of apparent magnitude 11.0 and lying some 12.7 million light years distant. Only 24000 light years in diameter, it is an outlying member of the [[Sculptor Group]]. NGC 625 is thought to have been involved in a collision and is experiencing a burst of [[Active galactic nucleus|active star formation]].<ref>{{cite book  | last = O'Meara  | first = Stephen James  | date = 2011  | title = Deep-Sky Companions: The Secret Deep | publisher = Cambridge University Press | location = Cambridge, United Kingdom  | isbn = 978-0-521-19876-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S5QIEKns33sC&q=southern+bird+constellations+phoenix&pg=PA40 |pages=40–43}}</ref> [[Robert's Quartet]] (composed of the irregular galaxy [[NGC 87]], and three spiral galaxies [[NGC 88]], [[NGC 89]] and [[NGC 92]]) is a group of four galaxies located around 160 million light-years away which are in the process of colliding and merging. They are within a circle of radius of 1.6 arcmin, corresponding to about 75,000 light-years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/pr-2005/phot-34-05.html|title=eso0535&nbsp;— Photo Release: Cosmic Portrait of a Perturbed Family|last=Boffin|first=Henri|date=4 November 2005|publisher=European Southern Observatory|access-date=24 August 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011231649/http://www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/pr-2005/phot-34-05.html|archive-date=11 October 2008}}</ref> Located in the galaxy ESO 243-49 is [[HLX-1]], an [[intermediate-mass black hole]]—the first one of its kind identified. It is thought to be a remnant of a dwarf galaxy that was absorbed in a [[Interacting galaxy|collision]] with ESO 243-49.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} Before its discovery, this class of black hole was only hypothesized.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thebunsenburner.com/news/astronomers-spot-the-very-first-intermediate-mass-black-hole/|title=Astronomers spot the very first intermediate-mass black hole|date=9 July 2012|work=The Bunsen Burner|publisher=T.E. Holdings LLC|access-date=15 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203012901/http://thebunsenburner.com/news/astronomers-spot-the-very-first-intermediate-mass-black-hole/|archive-date=3 December 2013|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

Lying within the bounds of the constellation is the gigantic [[Phoenix cluster]], which is around 7.3 million light years wide and 5.7 billion light years away, making it one of the most massive [[galaxy cluster]]s. It was first discovered in 2010, and the central galaxy is producing an estimated 740 new stars a year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/cool-luminous-galaxy-cluster-identified-0815.html|title=Most massive and luminous galaxy cluster identified|last=Chu|first=Jennifer |date=15 August 2012 |work=MIT News|publisher= Massachusetts Institute of Technology|access-date=25 August 2012|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts}}</ref> Larger still is [[El Gordo (galaxy cluster)|El Gordo]], or officially ACT-CL J0102-4915, whose discovery was announced in 2012.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/news/H-12-008.html |title=NASA's Chandra Finds Largest Galaxy Cluster in Early Universe |author=Perrotto, Trent J. |author2=Anderson, Janet |author3=Watzke, Megan |date=10 January 2012 |publisher=NASA |access-date=2 September 2013 |archive-date=1 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170501103010/https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/news/H-12-008.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Located around 7.2 billion light years away, it is composed of two subclusters in the process of colliding, resulting in the spewing out of hot gas, seen in X-rays and infrared images.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chandra.si.edu/photo/2012/elgordo/ |title=El Gordo: NASA's Chandra Finds Largest Galaxy Cluster in Early Universe |author=Chandra X-ray Observatory |date=10 January 2012 |publisher= NASA |access-date=2 September 2013}}</ref>

===Meteor showers===
Phoenix is the [[radiant (meteor shower)|radiant]] of two annual [[meteor shower]]s. The [[Phoenicids]], also known as the December Phoenicids, were first observed on 3 December 1887. The shower was particularly intense in December 1956, and is thought related to the breakup of the [[short-period comet]] [[289P/Blanpain]]. It peaks around 4–5 December, though is not seen every year.<ref name=jenniskens>{{cite book |last=Jenniskens |first=Peter |title=Meteor Showers and Their Parent Comets |date=2006|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QpajMuyXG8AC&q=phoenicids+meteor+shower&pg=PA388 |pages=387–88 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, United Kingdom |isbn=978-0-521-85349-1}}</ref> A very minor meteor shower peaks around July 14 with around one meteor an hour, though meteors can be seen anytime from July 3 to 18; this shower is referred to as the July Phoenicids.<ref name="levy08">{{cite book|last=Levy|first=David H.|author-link=David H. Levy |title=David Levy's Guide to Observing Meteor Showers|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, United Kingdom|date=2008|pages=115|isbn=978-0-521-69691-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jAr7HMnlPGUC&q=%22july+phoenicids%22&pg=PA115}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[IAU designated constellations|IAU-recognized constellations]]
* [[Phoenix (Chinese astronomy)]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* [http://astrojan.nhely.hu/phoenix.htm The clickable Phoenix]

{{Commons category-inline|Phoenix (constellation)}}

{{Stars of Phoenix}}
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[[Category:Phoenix (constellation)| ]]
[[Category:Southern constellations]]
[[Category:Phoenixes in popular culture]]
[[Category:Constellations listed by Petrus Plancius]]