Take time for your pleasure

And laugh with love

Take the hand of another

And sing for the wings of a dove.

– 'Wings Of A Dove' Madness

First appearing as Columba Noachi in Johann Bayer's Uranometria (star catalogue) of 1603, it's safe to assume Columba was drawn to honour the Biblical dove sent out by Noah after the Great Flood, which returned to the Ark with an olive branch as proof that the water was dissipating.

Columba is a small southern constellation situated beneath mighty Orion's prey, Lepus, the hare. Also sharing Columba's borders are Caelum, Pictor, Puppis and Canis Major. Columba is not a very distinct star grouping, but there is a 'runaway' star with an intriguing history. For the deep-sky enthusiast there is a globular star cluster and three galaxies to seek out.

Mythology: Dove of the Argonauts

The constellation Columba did not exist in the time of the ancient Greeks, but there are plenty of stories regarding the fabled Argonauts, one of which involved a dove. Argo Navis was one of the ancient 48 constellations of Ptolemy's time, it represented the famous vessel which transported Jason and his men in their search for the Golden Fleece. According to the legend, when the mariners of the ship Argo were approaching the Clashing Rocks, they launched a dove to precede them.

History: Breaking up the Argo

In the 18th Century the massive group of stars which was Argo Navis was split into three separate 'modern' constellations by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille (1713 - 62), whose posthumous catalogue Coelum Australe Stelliferum described 14 new constellations and 42 nebulous objects among almost 10,000 southern stars from information garnered on a 1751 – 54 expedition to the Cape of Good Hope.

Vela 'the Sail', Carina 'the Keel (or Hull)', and Puppis 'the Stern' probably commemorate the wrecked ship of the Argonauts' adventure. Columba is situated above Carina, and to the above-right of Puppis, as if the dove had just taken off on its mission to save the Argonauts from a watery grave.

Setting the Borders

By the 19th Century there were over 100 constellations in existence, honouring some weird and wacky objects that were in vogue at the time. In 1922, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) eliminated all but the now officially-recognised 88. In 1930, the IAU formed official 'borders' between each constellation.

Stars

All stars have a scientific name to identify them. Some have a letter from the Greek alphabet combined with the genitive name of the constellation, known as the 'Bayer designation'. Other stars have numbers plus genitive, and yet more have English capital letters plus genitive. The brightest stars of the constellation usually have proper names, for example, Phact is the common name of alpha Columbae.

Stars of Columba

Alpha Columbae, Phact, meaning 'ring dove', is the brightest of the constellation even though it is only 3rd magnitude. Phact is a blue-white subgiant around five times the mass of our Sun.

Beta Columbae, Wazn (or Wezn), means 'measure'; this star marks where the two lines cross when the stars are joined up in the imagination. Romantic souls would call this orange giant the heart of the dove.

Mu Columbae is an intriguing
runaway star once paired with AE Aurigae, but they were separated by a collision which occurred 2.7 million years ago. What happened was two sets of double star systems ventured a little too close for comfort, and in the ensuing mayhem two of the original partners were expelled, resulting in the ultimate wife-swap! Mu Columbae was ejected with some force, condemned to wander the universe at high speed (200 km/s), alone until the next intergalactic encounter.

New General Catalogue (NGC)

The NGC was compiled by John Louis Emil Dreyer (the director of the Armagh Observatory from 1882 to 1916). NGC 1851 is a globular star cluster, NGC 1792, NGC 1808 and NGC 2090 are all galaxies. All were discovered by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop (1793 - 1848) while he was working at Parramatta Observatory, New South Wales, Australia.

Doves in Modern Culture

People have come to look upon doves as symbols of beauty, gracefulness and peace, and as a celebration of joy and thanksgiving. A single dove has been regarded as a peace symbol for some time; Spanish artist Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973) used one on a poster for the World Peace Congress in 1949. A pair of doves represents lovers or a newly-married couple, with images of doves being a popular choice for engagement announcements and wedding invitations. Sometimes live doves³ are released, for example at funerals, to represent the setting free of the soul from its earthly ties. The symbol for St Andrew's Hospice, Grimsby, UK, is a dove superimposed on a white cross against a dark blue circular background.

Related Entries in the Edited Guide

• The A19032789 is a type of pigeon.

• There are several 'Dove' varieties of hamster.
  

• Dove-tail guppies are very pretty little fish.
  

• Columba Cream is a Scottish liqueur concocted from Highland Malt Whisky, honey, cream and fruit.