- Star Tales - Circinus (ianridpath.com)
An insignificant constellation representing a pair of dividing compasses as used by geometers, draughtsmen, and navigators for drawing circles and measuring distances; they are also known as dividers. Circinus was introduced in the 1750s by the Frenchman Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, who fitted various figures into gaps between the existing constellations of the southern skies. In this case the gap seems to have been almost non-existent, and the compasses are squeezed in their folded position between the forefeet of Centaurus and Triangulum Australe. It is the smallest of Lacaille’s 14 inventions, and the fourth-smallest constellation in the entire sky.
- Cliff House, San Francisco (Wikipedia)
The Cliff House is a neo-classical style building perched on the headland above the cliffs just north of Ocean Beach. Located on the West Side of San Francisco in the city’s Outer Richmond neighborhood, the building overlooks the site of the Sutro Baths ruins, Seal Rocks, and is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and operated by the National Park Service (NPS). The Cliff House is owned by the NPS; the building’s terrace hosts a room-sized camera obscura.
- Circinus (Wikipedia)
Circinus is a small, faint constellation in the southern sky, first defined in 1756 by the French astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille. Its name is Latin for compass, referring to the drafting tool used for drawing circles (it should not be confused with Pyxis, a constellation that represents a mariner’s compass which points north). Its brightest star is Alpha Circini, with an apparent magnitude of 3.19. Slightly variable, it is the brightest rapidly oscillating Ap star in the night sky. AX Circini is a Cepheid variable visible with the unaided eye, and BX Circini is a faint star thought to have been formed from the merger of two white dwarfs. Two sun-like stars have planetary systems: HD 134060 has two small planets, and HD 129445 has a Jupiter-like planet. Supernova SN 185 appeared in Circinus in 185 AD and was recorded by Chinese observers. Two novae have been observed more recently, in the 20th century.
