In the southern sky, Sculptor is a tiny and dim constellation. It is an image of a sculptor. Nicolas Louis de Lacaille popularised it in the 18th century. Apparatus Sculptoris (the sculptor's studio) was the original name; it was later abbreviated.
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History
Aratus is named The Waters, a region of dispersed dim stars with two brighter stars standing out, around 270 BC for the area south of Cetus and Aquarius. Bradley Schaefer, an astronomy professor, suggested that these stars were probably Alpha and Delta Sculptoris. (Schaefer 2002) In 1751–1752, Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille, a French astronomer, called the constellation "l'Atelier du Sculpteur," or "the sculptor's studio." shows a marble block next to a three-legged table with a carved head on it, along with an artist's mallet and two chisels. During his two years at the Cape of Good Hope, De Lacaille observed and recorded about 10,000 southern stars, creating fourteen new constellations in unexplored parts of the Southern Celestial Hemisphere that were not visible from Europe. All but one of them bear the names of instruments that represent the Age of Enlightenment. (Wagman 2003) |
Characteristics
The small constellation Sculptor is bounded to the north by Aquarius and Cetus, to the east by Fornax, to the south by Phoenix, to the southwest by Grus, and the west by Piscis Austrinus. Nearby lies the brilliant star Fomalhaut. (Klepešta 1974) The International Astronomical Union chose the three-letter abbreviation "Scl" for the constellation in 1922. (Russell 1922) In 1930, Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte established the official constellation limits, which are represented by a polygon with six parts. These borders' right ascension values in the equatorial coordinate system range from 23h 06.4m to 01h 45.5m, while their declination coordinates fall between 24.80° and 39.37°. In the south of latitude 50°N, astronomers can see the entire constellation.
The small constellation Sculptor is bounded to the north by Aquarius and Cetus, to the east by Fornax, to the south by Phoenix, to the southwest by Grus, and the west by Piscis Austrinus. Nearby lies the brilliant star Fomalhaut. (Klepešta 1974) The International Astronomical Union chose the three-letter abbreviation "Scl" for the constellation in 1922. (Russell 1922) In 1930, Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte established the official constellation limits, which are represented by a polygon with six parts. These borders' right ascension values in the equatorial coordinate system range from 23h 06.4m to 01h 45.5m, while their declination coordinates fall between 24.80° and 39.37°. In the south of latitude 50°N, astronomers can see the entire constellation.
Deep-sky Objects
Bayer stars - 18
Stars with planets - 6
Stars brighter than magnitude 3.00 - 0
Stars within 32 Ly - 2
Messier objects - 0
Bordering
constellations
- NGC 253 – Intermediate Spiral Galaxy
- NGC 55 – Irregular Galaxy
- ESO 350-40 – Lenticular Galaxy
- NGC 253 - Intermediate Spiral Galaxy
Bayer stars - 18
Stars with planets - 6
Stars brighter than magnitude 3.00 - 0
Stars within 32 Ly - 2
Messier objects - 0
Bordering
constellations
- Cetus
- Aquarius
- Piscis Austrinus
- Grus
- Phoenix
- Fornax