Constellation, Swordfish
Dorado
The dolphinfish or mahi-mahi, a figure from the first Dutch voyages to the East Indies. It holds most of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small neighbour galaxy of our own.
From New York the constellation Dorado never rises above the horizon: it belongs to the other hemisphere’s sky.
From New York the constellation Dorado never rises above the horizon: it belongs to the other hemisphere’s sky.
In the 3D sky
The sky over New York turned towards Dorado. Drag to look around.
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Evening visibility over the year
Height of the constellation’s centre above the horizon at 10 pm local time on the 15th of each month, from New York. Above about 30° it is well placed.
Name and history
Dorado has no ancient myth. It is one of twelve southern figures based on the observations of the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman, which Petrus Plancius first showed on a globe in 1598. It is the dolphinfish, a colourful predator of tropical seas, not a goldfish. Dutch sailors saw these fish chasing flying fish, so Dorado follows Volans, the flying fish, across the sky. Johann Bayer’s Uranometria of 1603 was the first printed atlas to show it.
Johannes Kepler’s Rudolphine Tables of 1627 also called it Xiphias, the swordfish. Halley, Hevelius and Bode used that name, but Lacaille kept Dorado, and his choice won out. The Large Magellanic Cloud lies mostly within its borders. Inside the cloud is the great Tarantula Nebula, also called 30 Doradus, which Bayer drew as a star in 1603.
Sources: Ian Ridpath, Star Tales: Dorado
Brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| α Dor | α Dor | 3.30 | 169 light-years |
| β Dor | β Dor | 3.76 | 1,007 light-years |
| γ Dor | γ Dor | 4.26 | 67 light-years |
| δ Dor | δ Dor | 4.34 | 150 light-years |
| HIP 27890 | HIP 27890 | 4.65 | 86 light-years |
| ζ Dor | ζ Dor | 4.71 | 38 light-years |
| θ Dor | θ Dor | 4.81 | 491 light-years |
Facts
| Area | about 180 square degrees (72 of 88) |
|---|---|
| IAU abbreviation | Dor |
| Sky | Southern sky |
| Origin | First shown on the 1598 celestial globe of Petrus Plancius and Jodocus Hondius, from observations by Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman |
| Stars brighter than magnitude 5 | 7 |
| Centre (J2000) | 5.1 h, -61° |
Deep-sky objects
Galaxies, clusters and nebulae brighter than magnitude 9, from the OpenNGC catalogue. Most need binoculars or a telescope and a dark sky.
| Object | Type | Magnitude |
|---|---|---|
| NGC2070 · 30 Dor Cluster | HII region | 7.3 |
| NGC2074 | Cluster with nebula | 8.5 |
| NGC1955 | HII region | 8.9 |
| NGC1850 | Globular cluster | 9.0 |
| NGC2014 | Nebula | 9.0 |
Boundaries: International Astronomical Union, via Astronomy Engine. Areas are computed from the boundaries by sampling (within about one percent). Names and lines: Stellarium. Stars: HYG Database. Deep-sky objects: OpenNGC. Calculated with Astronomy Engine, an open-source library verified against the US Naval Observatory and NASA JPL. Data sources
How to use this page
Choose your place and a night at the top. The answer and the 3D view show where the constellation is, when it is highest and whether it rises at all from where you are. The chart shows its stars and lines, and the tables list its brightest stars and the deep-sky objects inside it.
Frequently asked questions
When is a constellation best seen?
When it is highest in a dark sky, which the page gives for the night you pick. Each constellation is best placed in a particular season, because the stars rise about four minutes earlier every night.
Why can I not see a constellation from my place?
Constellations far south of the celestial equator never rise from northern places, and those far north never rise from southern ones. The page says when this is the case.
What are the constellation boundaries?
The International Astronomical Union divides the sky into 88 areas with official boundaries. The stick figures are only a drawing aid, the boundaries say which constellation a point in the sky belongs to.
Related guides
- How to learn the constellationsStart with one bright pattern you cannot miss, use it as a signpost to its neighbours, and come back a month later: the sky will have turned, and you will know a little more of it.
- Altitude and azimuth: finding things in the skyTwo angles tell you exactly where to look: which direction, and how high.
- Light pollution and dark skies: the Bortle scaleFrom a city centre you can count a few dozen stars. From a truly dark site you can count a few thousand, with the Milky Way bright enough to cast a shadow. The Bortle scale puts a number on the difference.
- Binoculars for stargazing: what to buy and what to look atA pair of 7x50 or 10x50 binoculars shows the craters of the Moon, the moons of Jupiter, dozens of star clusters and the Andromeda Galaxy, for a fraction of the cost of a telescope.