Grus

Grus is one of the 88 modern constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union. Its genitive form is Gruis, its standard abbreviation is Gru, it is traditionally shown as the crane. It belongs to the Bayer family of constellations and lies in the fourth quadrant of the southern hemisphere. The constellation covers about 366 square degrees of sky, ranking 45th in size among the 88. Its brightest star is α Gru (Alnair) at apparent magnitude 1.73. It borders Piscis Austrinus, Microscopium, Indus, Tucana, Phoenix and Sculptor. In this atlas the entity is the shared sky reference for astronomical objects catalogued by constellation, so every star, nebula or galaxy located within Grus resolves to one identity.