Sextans
Origin
Sextans, representing a sextant, has its origin in the eighteenth century when it was introduced by the French astronomer Abbé Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille during his exploration of the southern hemisphere skies from South Africa. Lacaille, renowned for his precision in astronomical measurements, sought to chart and name new constellations in the largely uncharted southern celestial regions. The name Sextans pays homage to the sextant, an essential navigational instrument used by mariners and astronomers for precise measurement. The constellation was created to commemorate the crucial role that instruments like the sextant played in early astronomy and navigation, and it stands as a tribute to the advancement of science and exploration during the Age of Enlightenment.
Bright Stars
Sextans does not contain any particularly bright stars, and its significance lies more in its role as a celestial reference point than in its individual stars.
Photo of the constellation Sextans produced by NOIRLab in collaboration with Eckhard Slawik, a German astrophotographer.
The annotations are from a standardized set of 88 western IAU constellations and stick figures from Sky & Telescope. Please find here a non-annotated version of the image.
Credit: E. Slawik/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/M. Zamani
Latin name
English name
Sextans
Pronunciation
SEX-tens
Abbreviation
Sex
Notable Objects
The constellation Sextans includes NGC 3115 (the Spindle Galaxy). NGC 3115 is a lenticular galaxy often referred to as the Spindle Galaxy because of its elongated shape. It is relatively bright and can be observed with a small telescope. The galaxy appears edge-on and is intriguing to study.
