Particulars:
General:
Delphinus, the dolphin, is a small constellation of the
family of the "Heavenly Waters" lying north, but close
to the celestial equator.
The four main stars form an asterism known as
"Job's Coffin". The names of the two main stars, alpha
Del and beta Del, Sualocin and Rotanev,
were first mentioned in 1814 in a star catalog, published at the
Palermo Observatory in Italy. Read backwards these two names
resolved to Nicolaus Venator, which is the latin version for the
italian name Niccolo Cacciatore, who was the assistant director
of the observatory in this time.
Stars and other objects
Gamma Del is a wide double which can be resolved by
binoculars. The magnitudes of the components are 4.5 mag and 5.5
mag.
Struve 2725 is a closer double. The two stars are of 7th
and 8th mag. This double lies nearly in the same field of view as
gamma Del.
The region around Delphinus is usually mentioned for
novae.
Mythological Background:
The dolphin represents a messenger of the sea-god Poseidon.