Volans

Volans is a small constellation in the southern sky, conventionally depicted as a flying fish. Dutch navigators introduced it in the late 16th century.

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Constellation: A formally defined region of the sky, often associated with a traditional figure or pattern of stars. Volans is one of the 88 constellations that divide the celestial sphere.
Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser: A Dutch navigator associated with observations of southern stars during an expedition to the East Indies in the 1590s. His observations are traditionally linked to the new southern constellations that include Volans.
Gamma Volantis: A wide optical double star in the constellation Volans, composed of two stars visible through a telescope. It is one of Volans’s most recognizable stellar pairings.
Piscis Austrinus: An ancient southern constellation depicting a fish, distinct from the flying fish represented by Volans. Its fish imagery contrasts with Volans’s specifically airborne figure.
Celestial sphere: An imaginary sphere surrounding Earth onto which celestial objects are projected for mapping. Volans occupies a fixed region on this sky-mapping sphere.
Frederick de Houtman: A Dutch navigator whose published star catalogue recorded southern celestial observations. His catalogue helped transmit the star patterns associated with Volans.
Epsilon Volantis: A multiple-star system in the constellation Volans. Its components make it a notable target within the constellation.
Dorado: A southern constellation introduced in the 16th century and traditionally depicted as a dolphinfish or swordfish. Like Volans, it depicts a fish, but its figure and historical naming differ.
Right ascension: The celestial coordinate corresponding to longitude, measured eastward along the celestial equator. Its right-ascension range helps specify Volans’s position.
Petrus Plancius: A Dutch-Flemish cartographer and theologian who helped establish several southern constellations on European celestial globes. He introduced Volans on a celestial globe in the 1590s.