Sextans
Sign in to saveSextans is a faint, minor constellation on the celestial equator which was introduced in 1687 by Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius. Its name is Latin for the astronomical sextant, an instrument that Hevelius made frequent use of in his observations.
AI overview
Sextans is a faint constellation located along the celestial equator that was created in 1687 by Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius and named after the sextant, a navigation and observation instrument that he used regularly in his astronomical work. While it remains relatively obscure today, it represents an important addition to the night sky's catalog of constellations from the era of early modern astronomy.
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Key facts
- Constellation.symbolism
- the Sextant
- Constellation.name
- Sextans
- Constellation.abbreviation
- Sex
- Constellation.genitive
- Sextantis, Sextansis
- Constellation.pronounce
- ,genitive
- Constellation.RA
- –
- Constellation.dec
- –
- Constellation.family
- Hercules
- Constellation.quadrant
- SQ2
- Constellation.areatotal
- 314
- Constellation.arearank
- 47th
- Constellation.numbermainstars
- 3
- Constellation.numberbfstars
Article
12 sectionsContents
- Characteristics
- History
- Features
- Stars
- Bright stars
- Multiple star systems
- COSMOS project
- Gallery
- See also
- References
- Notes
- External links
Sextans is a faint, minor constellation on the celestial equator which was introduced in 1687 by Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius. Its name is Latin for the astronomical sextant, an instrument that Hevelius made frequent use of in his observations.
==Characteristics== Sextans is a medium-sized constellation bordering Leo to the north, touching on Hydra to the southwest, and Crater to the southeast. The recommended three-letter abbreviation for the constellation, as adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1922, is "Sex". The official constellation boundaries, as set by Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte in 1930, are defined by a square. In the equatorial coordinate system, the right ascension coordinates of these borders lie between and , while the declination coordinates are between +6.43° and −11.7°. Since it is close to the ecliptic plane, the Moon and planets regularly cross the constellation, especially its northeastern corner.