#alpha columbae

Columba, which is Latin for "dove", is a more recent addition to the night skies. It was added by Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius in 1592. He named the constellation Columba Noachi meaning "Noah's Dove," referring to the dove that gave Noah information that the Great Flood was over.

There are a few named stars here. In order of brightness:

Phact (α Columbae) is a solitary blue giant star about 261 light years away. Its name comes from the Arabic word fākhitah meaning "ring dove."

Wazn (β Columbae) is a solitary orange giant star about 87 light years away. Its name comes from the Arabic word wazn meaning "weight," although we don't know why this was attributed to this star.

Elkurud (θ Columbae) is another solitary blue giant star, this one about 780 light years away. About 4.7 million years ago, this star was relatively close to the Sun, only about 11 light years away. Its name comes from the Arabic word al-furūd meaning "the solitary ones."