Sextans

Also known as Sex, Sextantis, Sextansis

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.

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.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

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: 28
Constellation.numberbrightstars: 0
Constellation.numbernearbystars: 5
Constellation.brighteststarname: α Sex
Constellation.starmagnitude: 4.49
Constellation.neareststarname: LHS 292

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Official name: Sextans
Area: 314
Image: SextansCC.jpg

Show 4 more facts

Commons category: Sextans (constellation)
Commons gallery: Sextans
time of discovery or invention: 1687-00-00
short name: Sex

Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

~5 min read

Article

12 sections

Contents

Characteristics
History
Features
Stars
Bright stars
Multiple star systems
COSMOS project
Gallery
See also
References
Notes
External links

==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.