Ship compass (constellation)
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Constellation Ship Compass |
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| Latin name | Pyxis |
| Latin genitive | Pyxidis |
| Abbreviation | Pyx |
| Right ascension | 08 h 26 m 43 s to 09 h 27 m 37 s |
| declination | −37 ° 17 ′ 31 ″ to −17 ° 24 ′ 41 ″ |
| surface | 220.833 deg² rank 65 |
| Completely visible | 53.0 ° N to 90 ° S |
| Observation time for Central Europe | winter |
| Number of stars brighter than 3 mag | 0 |
| Brightest star (size) | α Pyxidis (3.68) |
| Meteor streams | |
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Neighboring constellations ( clockwise from north ) |
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| swell | IAU , |
 The Pyxis constellation as seen with the naked eye |
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The ship's compass ( Latin pyxis ; also: compass) is a constellation of the southern sky .
description
The ship's compass is an inconspicuous constellation south of the water snake (Hydra). Only one of its stars is brighter than the 4th magnitude .
The band of the Milky Way with two open star clusters runs through the ship's compass .
history
The constellation was introduced in 1756 by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille . He positioned it west of the ancient constellation Argo Navis , the ship of the Argonauts , which was still complete at the time . In 1763 he divided the vast ship into three separate constellations, the aft deck of the ship (Puppis), the sail of the ship (Vela) and the keel of the ship (Carina).
The stars lying between the sail and the ship's compass were formerly known as masts (malus) . See also at Schiff Argo .
Celestial objects
Stellar objects
| Name / designation | size |
|---|---|
| α pyxidis | 3.68 m |
| β pyxidis | 4.0 m |
| γ pyxidis | 4.0 m |
| T pyxidis | |
| Jean 317 |
α Pyxidis is a star of the spectral class B2 III, 1200 light years away .
Deep sky objects
| NGC | other | size | Type | Surname |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2613 | 10.4 m | Galaxy | ||
| 2627 | 8.4 m | Open star cluster | ||
| 2658 | 9.2 m | Open star cluster | ||
| 2818 | 8.2 m | Planetary nebula |
