Talk:Circinus

Poorly named

Why is the constellation considered "poorly named"? Joyous 23:59, Apr 13, 2005 (UTC)

It, like many of Lacaille's constellations, is named after a scientific instrument, which is different from other constellation names. Whether it's a poor name is kind of POV IMHO. I'm going to remove that. JYolkowski 01:36, 14 Apr 2005 (UTC)

International Constellation Conference

What is the "International Constellation Conference" mentioned in the entry? Is this a joke? Skeptic2 22:10, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

I couldn't find it. I believe it is some kind of misconception. IAU can't be involved here, since their site http://www.iau.org/public_press/themes/constellations/ list pronunciations that seem to be partially adhering to Covington's article (but see Aries!) linked in that page. They don't recommend anything however.

(discussion copied to Wikipedia:WikiProject Astronomy/Constellations Task Force) Said: Rursus ☻ 05:25, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

History & Mythology

I feel that this section should be expanded. I came to this article as I haven't done any wiki editing for a good while and I thought I might help to promote the article to GA status. Currently the history/mythology does not include anything notable from southern hemisphere indigenous cultures. Perhaps we should flesh this out a bit? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rbowman (talk • contribs) 09:45, 17 February 2013 (UTC)

It is a pretty faint constellation - I looked and looked and found zero. If you find something or have something to add...that'd be great. Casliber (talk · contribs) 11:51, 17 February 2013 (UTC)

Ditto, I've been through everything I can get my hands on. I'm pretty sure that there's no Polynesian mythos surrounding it, and I can't find anything Australian for the life of me. If you can turn up something that would be fantastic! Keilana|^{Parlez ici} 22:02, 17 February 2013 (UTC)

Since I left my comment, I have been rooting around a bit but, like you, have not found anything. As you say, it's faint and also a bit of a wallflower next to Centaurus et al. It's possible it just did not have its own identity in older cultures. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rbowman (talk • contribs) 21:06, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

GA Review

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

Reviewer: Wehwalt (talk · contribs) 21:18, 14 March 2013 (UTC) I'll take this one.

Some comments:

Lede

• You say it's Latin for compass. Is it worth adding an illustration of a compass at some point in the article, since you do not have large numbers of images? Ideally, a classic constellation image (forgive me, I don't know the technical term) showing it as a compass would be a nice thing to have, too. Lacaille's perhaps? Don't feel you have to do this to get GA, just a suggestion or two.

I had mused on that actually...to balance astronomy-starfield type photos. Will have a think about some Casliber (talk · contribs) 00:07, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

• "and planetary nebula, NGC 5315, and a spiral galaxy." The multiple commas read oddly here.

I've just removed some commas Casliber (talk · contribs) 00:07, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

History

• Is it known how it acquired its Latin name in 1763? Did Lacaille name it? I would also suggest that this information works perhaps better at the end of the paragraph.

• Yep, Lacaille named it and I've clarified that. I also moved that sentence to the end. Keilana|^{Parlez ici} 00:12, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

Characteristics

• "is hence visible only south of the 30° north latitude." I venture hesitantly into this technical bit of writing, but could the "the" be deleted?

No, you are right here, the "the" is in error.... Casliber (talk · contribs) 00:07, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

Notable features

• "the two orbit each other every 2000 years.[14] They orbit each other every 180 years." ahem

• Aah, it's 180 years. Fixed. Keilana|^{Parlez ici} 00:33, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

• "The system is over 3600 light years distant,[16] and would outshine Venus at magnitude -4.8 if it were 32 light years (10 parsecs) distant" suggest modification to avoid double "juggling"

Thank heavens for parallel latin- and anglo-saxon-derived words that mean the same....done Casliber (talk · contribs) 00:14, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

• "could intersect with the Earth's orbit that and generate a meteor outburst" I think tweaking is needed here.

duly twaeked Casliber (talk · contribs) 00:14, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

Quite good and understandable within my technical limits. I don't see anything else that would impede a GA.Wehwalt (talk) 21:18, 14 March 2013 (UTC)

Just the "orbit each other" with the widely varying figures.--Wehwalt (talk) 00:33, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

Fixed that, I've got no idea where the "2000" came from... Keilana|^{Parlez ici} 00:35, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

• Passed. Good luck with it.--Wehwalt (talk) 00:42, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

Requested move 17 January 2014

The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was: moved. DrKay (talk) 19:14, 29 January 2014 (UTC)

---

Circinus (constellation) → Circinus – I think Circinus is WP:PRIMARYTOPIC in the current Circinus dab - the Latin name of the instrument is hardly an equally widespread name and the galaxy is titled Circinus Galaxy, not just Circinus, unlike the constellation. This would also be consistent with other similar constellation cases, such as Telescopium, Delphinus, Tucana, Scorpius, etc. Brandmeister^talk 23:46, 17 January 2014 (UTC)

• Comment the galaxy is frequently called "Circinus" ; and the constellation is frequently called "Circinus Constellation" or "Constellation Circinus", so the titles of our articles are not definitive. Many of the contellation articles carry "(constellation)", so there's no requirement to remove it. ie Cancer (constellation), Sculptor (constellation), Mensa (constellation), etc. -- 70.50.148.122 (talk) 03:11, 18 January 2014 (UTC)

• The constellation Circinus seems to be better known than Circinus galaxy, at least to general folk. The constellations like Cancer or Sculptor are disambiguated because other things are obviously more or equally recognizable. Brandmeister^talk 13:35, 18 January 2014 (UTC)

• I think I'd support the move - the constellation is more a primary name topic than the galaxy. Calling the galaxy "Circinus" alone is more an abbreviation or colloquialism, and even then does not carry the same weight I think as M31 as Andromeda. Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 13:54, 18 January 2014 (UTC)

• Support; the constellation definitely takes the WP:PRIMARYTOPIC over the galaxy. Unlike with Andromeda, the galaxy, although important, isn't one of the most studied objects in the entire sky. StringTheory11 (t • c) 18:02, 18 January 2014 (UTC)
• Support; Circinus is almost exclusively referring to the constellation. PlanetStar 05:18, 19 January 2014 (UTC)
• Support Red Slash 06:17, 23 January 2014 (UTC)

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

Black Widow Nebula

It would be interesting to see (in this article) a description and coordinates of the object known as the Black Widow Nebula. It seems to be located in the constellation Circinus. I discovered the name of this object somewhere in one of the monthly magazines such as Sky & Telescope or Astronomy, but I can't remember which one. DannyCaes (talk) 20:39, 10 January 2023 (UTC)

Proposed addition: annotated wide-field image of Circinus

Hello, I am affiliated with NOIRLab and would like to propose the following addition for community review. Because this is a Featured Article, I want to be especially careful and explicitly note that I am not proposing to replace the existing File:Constellation Circinus.jpg, which serves the article well as a naked-eye view. Instead, I am suggesting that an annotated wide-field image be added alongside it, so readers can see both the unaided-eye appearance and a labeled reference chart with IAU boundaries. Proposed change: Add an annotated wide-field photograph of Circinus to the "Features" section, in addition to the existing naked-eye image.

Image: File:Circinus (Annotated) (circinus-ann).tiff

Suggested caption: The constellation Circinus 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 option: Add as a second {{Image}} in the "Features" section, right-aligned to balance the existing left-aligned naked-eye photo.

Justification: The existing photograph shows Circinus as it appears to the unaided eye but does not label any stars or show the constellation's boundaries. The proposed annotated image complements it by providing a labeled reference that helps readers identify Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Circini and locate the constellation relative to its neighbours — content the article discusses in detail. The two images together serve different reader needs (visual impression vs. identification reference).

License: CC BY 4.0 (E. Slawik/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA)

Exact wikitext (to be added after the existing image in the Features section):

The constellation Circinus 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 acknowledge my conflict of interest and welcome any feedback. I am happy to adjust the caption wording, drop the external link in favour of a <ref>citation</ref>, or withdraw the proposal entirely if the community prefers the article as it stands. Thank you for reviewing. Marcodatadev (talk) 20:43, 11 April 2026 (UTC)

Done (a little further down the page to avoid squeezing the text too much) Discourses on Livvy (talk · contribs) 21:21, 11 April 2026 (UTC)