Talk:Apus

Pronunciation

/ˈeɪpəs/ what idiotic pronunciation is that? /ɑˈpuːs/ ('Ah-poos) wouldn't be impossible to pronounce even for those who speak nothing by English. Said: Rursus (☻) 20:46, 23 October 2008 (UTC)

Allen and Ridpath

I revised the paragraph added by Graduate of UCLA, B.A. Sociology, Class of 1996. Graduate of Cornell Law School, Juris Doctor, Specialization in International Law, Class of 2005. Attorney practicing in Los Angeles since 2005. Interests include astronomy (particularly the history of constellations in ancient cultures), biblical archaeology and the Dead Sea Scrolls, California history (especially pre-statehood), old maps and mapmakers, and all things English Football.

BenEsq (talk) 18:32, 29 October 2014 (UTC) about Allen's account of the history. In the first place, the suggestion that de Houtman's inspiration came from Chinese astronomy is not Allen's; Allen is simply reporting it, and mentions that it was disputed. But also, Ridpath does not address this; the referenced chapter simply indicates that Apus (and the other "Bayer's dozen") come from observations of Keyser and de Houtman, who sailed on the same voyage. BenEsq's source for Allen is a web site by Bill Thayer, who adds the following bizarre note:

According to Ian Ridpath, Chapter 1 of his book Star Tales the twelve new southern constellations were introduced later than that, and by different people altogether: Blaeu's Uranometria (1603) correctly credits them to Frederick de Houtman, who owed them in turn, however, to Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser, † 1596. (And thanks to Diana K. Rosenberg of Fixed Stars and Constellations for the heads-up.)

This misrepresents what Ridpath wrote. Ridpath makes clear that the observations were made separately by both Keyser and de Houtman (who were rivals sailing on the same voyage). Pieter Keyser was also known as "Peter Theodore", whom Allen does mention, so "later than that" and "different people altogether" are both wide of the mark. Ridpath writes that we don't know precisely who was responsible for the division of Keyser's and de Houtman's observations into the new constellations displayed on Plantius's globe that appeared very shortly afterward; it might have been any of the three of them, or some combination.

-- Elphion (talk) 17:25, 19 October 2014 (UTC)

I have removed that bit as I think it is not held elsewhere...and Allen wrote it in 1899...Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 14:50, 22 September 2016 (UTC)

"Next to each other"

I'm leaving this here rather than placing a [clarify] tag so as not to interfere with a GA review, but in the line "including two stars next to each other as Delta and another two stars near each other as Kappa" does "next to each other" mean that they are close in angle as viewed from earth (and if so how close), close to each other in three-dimensional space (and again, if so, how close) or actual binary star systems? —David Eppstein (talk) 00:29, 27 October 2016 (UTC)

Lacaille didn't have the means to tell whether stars were at the same distance, so angular separation is all that is claimed. The two deltas are fairly close (104 arcsec or about 1.7 arcmin); the two kappas much wider (about 38 arcmin). Neither pair is physically close in space. -- Elphion (talk) 03:20, 27 October 2016 (UTC)

GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Apus/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Adam Cuerden (talk · contribs) 20:36, 5 December 2016 (UTC)

Okay. So, as always, it's a pretty good and comprehensive article. There are a few issues, but they're mainly a problem for it moving forwards, I'd say:

For purposes of completeness, I'm going to compare this to the featured article Microscopium, and check whether it has similar range of content. Having reviewed, it does. HOWEVER, it could really use at least one historical depiction of the constellation, to show how its stars (supposedly) fit the bird of paradise shape.

I'd suggest using http://aa.usno.navy.mil/library/rare/BayerUran1661PiscisBot.jpg (file information can be copied from File:Johann_Bayer_-_Uraniometria_-_Southern_Birds.jpg). Alternatively, a crop of File:Cellarius_southern_scenographic.jpg would work. Adam Cuerden ^(talk) 20:57, 5 December 2016 (UTC)

Sourcing looks good; information a good range of material. I think it's just the lack of a historical depiction that's holding this back. Honestly, I could probably promote without, but... Adam Cuerden ^(talk) 20:36, 5 December 2016 (UTC)

ok will take a look at best one to crop or use... Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 09:19, 6 December 2016 (UTC)

Added an image now Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 09:32, 6 December 2016 (UTC)

That'll do, methinks. It's really obvious why the Apus name's derivation from Europeans oonly getting wingless footless specimens when you see how they depict it, I think.  Pass Adam Cuerden ^(talk) 15:37, 6 December 2016 (UTC)

Oh, there's a point - it's probably worth discussing the Apus/Apis confusion caused by Musca's bee-era. Briefly, as it was, after all, Musca that changed. Adam Cuerden ^(talk) 15:46, 6 December 2016 (UTC)

Thx! Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 03:29, 7 December 2016 (UTC)

Proposed image addition: NOIRLab annotated wide-field image of Apus

Hello, I am affiliated with NSF NOIRLab and would like to propose the following addition for community review. I recognise that this is a Featured Article and understand that FA-quality articles are held to particularly high editorial standards. I fully defer to the community's judgment on whether this addition meets those standards, and I am happy to withdraw the proposal entirely if reviewers prefer the article unchanged.

• Proposed change: Add an annotated wide-field photograph of the Apus constellation to the Characteristics section, which currently has no illustration. The image shows the IAU constellation boundaries, the stick figure, and labels for the brightest stars, directly supporting the prose in that section about the constellation's area, sky position, and bordering constellations.
• Image: File:Apus (Annotated) (apus-ann).tiff
• Suggested caption: "The constellation Apus showing the IAU boundaries, the constellation stick figure, and labels for its brightest stars. Astrophotograph by Eckhard Slawik, from NOIRLab's 88 Constellations project."
• Placement: Characteristics section, as a right-aligned thumb image at the top of the section.
• Justification: The Characteristics section discusses the constellation's sky area, boundaries, bordering constellations, and coordinate ranges, but currently has no visual to orient the reader. The annotated chart provides a direct visual reference for this content. The only images in the article are a historical 1603 engraving (History section) and a Hubble deep-sky photograph (Deep-sky objects section) — neither depicts the constellation's sky footprint as seen from Earth.
• License: CC BY 4.0 (NOIRLab/NSF/AURA)

The exact wikitext to insert at the top of the Characteristics section would be:

The constellation Apus showing the IAU boundaries, the constellation stick figure, and labels for its brightest stars. Astrophotograph by Eckhard Slawik, from NOIRLab's 88 Constellations project.

I welcome any feedback and am happy to: (1) adjust the caption wording; (2) replace the inline external link in the caption with a <ref> citation if reviewers prefer a reference over a direct link; or (3) withdraw this proposal entirely if the community prefers the article as it stands. Thank you for your time. Marcodatadev (talk) 23:55, 11 April 2026 (UTC)

Done DiscoursesonLivvy (talk · contribs) 07:29, 14 April 2026 (UTC)