- Asia (/ˈeɪʒə/ AY-zhə, UK also /ˈeɪʃə/ AY-shə) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometers, about 30% of Earth’s total land area and 8% of Earth’s total surface area. The continent, which has long been home to the majority of the human population, was the site of many of the first civilizations. Its 4.7 billion people constitute roughly 60% of the world’s population.
- Asellus Australis (stars.astro.illinois.edu)
ASELLUS AUSTRALIS (Delta Cancri). After the Pleiades and Hyades of Taurus, the Beehive cluster (Messier 44) of Cancer takes its place as one of the more prominent open clusters of the northern sky. The cluster is equally well-known as the Praesepe, or “manger,” and as such it is flanked by a pair of asses, donkeys, or “Aselli.” The northern one, Gamma Cancri, to the northeast of the Beehive, then takes on the name Asellus Borealis, the brighter fourth magnitude (3.94) southeastern one of the unrelated pair the name Asellus Australis.