Mensa (constellation)

Mensa

Constellation
List of stars in Mensa
Abbreviation	Men
Genitive	Mensae
Pronunciation	/ˈmɛnsə/ genitive: /ˈmɛnsiː/
Symbolism	the Table Mountain
Right ascension	03h 12m 55.9008s - 07h 36m 51.5289s
Declination	−71° - −85.5°
Quadrant	SQ1
Area	153 sq. deg. (75th)
Main stars	4
Bayer/Flamsteed stars	16
Stars with planets	3
Stars brighter than 3.00m	0
Stars within 10.00 pc (32.62 ly)	0
Brightest star	α Men (5.09m)
Messier objects	0
Meteor showers	0
Bordering constellations	Chamaeleon Dorado Hydrus Octans Volans
Visible at latitudes between +4° and −90°. Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of January.

Mensa is a constellation in the Southern Celestial Hemisphere near the south celestial pole, one of fourteen constellations drawn up in the 18th century by French astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille. Its name is Latin for table, though it originally commemorated Table Mountain and was known as "Mons Mensae". One of the eighty-eight constellations designated by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), it covers a keystone-shaped wedge of sky 153.5 square degrees in area. Other than the south polar constellation of Octans, it is the most southerly of constellations and is observable only south of the 5th parallel of the Northern Hemisphere.

One of the faintest constellations in the night sky, Mensa contains no apparently bright stars—the brightest, Alpha Mensae, is barely visible in suburban skies. Part of the Large Magellanic Cloud, several star clusters and a quasar lie in the area covered by the constellation, and at least three of its star systems have been found to have exoplanets.