Musca, the Fly, is a
circumpolar constellation of the
Southern Hemisphere and is rather dim with stars not reaching above 3rd magnitude. It's located south of
Crux, the Southern Cross, and is part of the
Coal Sack Nebula which extends from Crux into
Centaurus and Musca.
The
constellation was first named by
Johann Bayer in 1603 as
Apis, the Bee. Because of the similitary in name to the constellation
Apus, it was renamed by
Edmond Halley to Musca Apis, the Fly Bee, sometime after. It was then renamed once again by
Abbe Nicolas Louis de Lacaille to Musca Australis vel Indica,the Southern Fly or Indian Fly, to distinguish itself from the constellation
Musca Borealis, the Northern Fly. In 1929, the
International Astronomical Union merged the Northern Fly with
Aries, and the constellation was shortened to its modern name, simply Musca.