Editing Chamaeleon (section)

== Features ==
[[Image:Constellation Chamaeleon.jpg|thumb|left|300px|The constellation Chamaeleon as it can be seen by the naked eye.]]

=== Stars ===
{{see also|List of stars in Chamaeleon}}

There are four bright stars in Chamaeleon that form a compact diamond-shape approximately 10 degrees from the [[south celestial pole]] and about 15 degrees south of [[Alpha Crucis|Acrux]], along the axis formed by Acrux and [[Gamma Crucis]]. [[Alpha Chamaeleontis]] is a white-hued star of magnitude 4.1, 63 light-years from Earth. [[Beta Chamaeleontis]] is a blue-white hued star of magnitude 4.2, 271 light-years from Earth. [[Gamma Chamaeleontis]] is a red-hued giant star of magnitude 4.1, 413 light-years from Earth. The other bright star in Chamaeleon is [[Delta Chamaeleontis]], a wide [[double star]]. The brighter star is [[Delta2 Chamaeleontis|Delta<sup>2</sup> Chamaeleontis]], a blue-hued star of magnitude 4.4. [[Delta1 Chamaeleontis|Delta<sup>1</sup> Chamaeleontis]], the dimmer component, is an orange-hued giant star of magnitude 5.5. They both lie about 350 light years away.{{sfn|Ridpath|Tirion|2017|p=118}}

Chamaeleon is also the location of [[Cha 110913]], a unique dwarf star or proto solar system.

=== Deep-sky objects ===
[[File:An Active Centre ESO 021-G004.jpg|thumb|left|Spiral galaxy ESO 021-G004.<ref>{{cite web |title=An Active Centre |url=https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1951a/ |website=www.spacetelescope.org |access-date=23 December 2019 |language=en}}</ref>]]
In 1999, a nearby [[open cluster]] was discovered centered on the star [[Eta Chamaeleontis|η Chamaeleontis]]. The cluster, known as either
the [[Eta Chamaeleontis cluster]] or Mamajek 1, is 8 million years old, and lies 316 [[light years]] from Earth.{{sfn|Luhman|Steeghs|2004|p=917}}

The constellation contains a number of [[molecular clouds]] (the [[Chamaeleon complex|Chamaeleon dark clouds]]) that are forming low-mass [[T Tauri star]]s. The cloud complex lies some 400 to 600 [[light years]] from Earth, and contains tens of thousands of solar masses of gas and dust. The most prominent cluster of T Tauri stars and young B-type stars are in the Chamaeleon I cloud, and are associated with the reflection nebula [[IC 2631]].

Chamaeleon contains one planetary nebula, [[NGC 3195]], which is fairly faint. It appears in a telescope at about the same apparent size as [[Jupiter]].{{sfn|Ridpath|Tirion|2017|p=118}}