Octans
No
- Indian
- Peacock
- Bird of paradise
- Chameleon
- Mesa
- Small water snake
- Toucan
The octant (Latin octane ) is the southernmost constellation in the night sky.
Description
The octant is an inconspicuous constellation in the southern celestial pole. In contrast to its northern counterpart, the little bear with the bright star Polaris, located near the South Pole sky no conspicuous star. The closest, visible with the naked eye star σ Octantis (also called Polaris Australis ) is a star of the 5th magnitude.
History
The constellation was introduced in 1752 by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille. It should be an octant, an instrument that was used by sailors earlier for position determination.
Celestial objects
Stars
ν Octantis, the brightest star in the octants is 690 light years distant, orange shining star of spectral type K0 III.
β Octantis is 140 light years away. It is a white shining star of spectral type A9 IV
σ Octantis is 270 light years away. With an apparent magnitude of 5.45 m, it is still just visible with the naked eye. The Latin name Polaris Australis means " southern polar star."