Quadrans Muralis (Latin for mural quadrant) was a constellation created by the French astronomer Jérôme Lalande in 1795. It depicted a wall-mounted quadrant with which he and his nephew Michel Lefrançois de Lalande had charted the celestial sphere, and was named Le Mural in the French atlas.[ It was between the constellations of Boötes and Draco, near the tail of Ursa Major,][ containing stars between β Bootis (Nekkar) and η Ursae Majoris (Alkaid).][
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Johann Elert Bode converted its name to Latin as Quadrans Muralis and shrank the constellation a little in his 1801 Uranographia star atlas, to avoid it clashing with neighboring constellations.[
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In 1922, Quadrans Muralis was omitted when the International Astronomical Union (IAU) formalized its list of officially recognized constellations.[
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Notable features
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44 Boötis was the brightest star of Lalande's version of the constellation.
[ the primary component of the system 44 Boötis A was named Quadrans by the IAU Working Group on Star Names in 2025.]
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CL Draconis was the brightest star of Bode's version of the constellation.
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The variable star BP Boötis was a member of the constellation.
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39 Boötis is a double star that was transferred by Lalande into Quadrans.
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The Quadrantid meteor shower is still named after the obsolete constellation.
See also
