Pyxis

Pyxis (/ˈpɪksɨs/; Greek: box) is a small and faint constellation in the southern sky. Its name is Latin for a mariner's compass (it should not be confused with Circinus, which represents a draftsman's compasses). Pyxis is completely visible from latitudes south of 53 degrees north, with its best evening-sky visibility in January through March. The brightest star is Alpha Pyxidis at magnitude 3.68. Pyxis was introduced by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in the 18th century; he called it Pyxis Nautica, but the name was shortened. The constellation is located close to those forming the old constellation of Argo Navis (the ship Argo), and in the 19th century astronomer John Herschel suggested renaming Pyxis to 'Malus, the mast', but the suggestion was not followed. ... Pyxis is a small constellation bordered by Hydra to the north, Puppis to the west, Vela to the south, and Antlia to the east. The three-letter abbreviation for the constellation, as adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1922, is 'Pyx'. ... Stars. With a visual magnitude of 3.68, Alpha Pyxidis is the brightest star in the constellation. It is a blue-white star of spectral type B1.5III which lies around 850 light years away. The second brightest star at magnitude 3.97 is Beta Pyxidis, a yellow bright giant or supergiant of spectral type G7Ib-II around 420 light years distant. It has a companion star of magnitude 12.5 separated by 9 arcseconds. Gamma Pyxidis is an orange giant of spectral type K3III which lies around 209 light years distant. Its visual magnitude is 4.03. Kappa Pyxidis was catalogued but not given a Bayer designation (Greek letter) by Lacaille, however Gould felt the star was bright enough to warrant a letter. A multiple star system, Kappa has a visual magnitude of 4.58 and is 560 light years distant. The primary component is an orange giant of spectral type K4/K5III. Theta Pyxidis is a red giant of spectral type M1III and semi-regular variable with two measured periods of 13 and 98.3 days, and an average visual magnitude of 4.71. It is 522 light years distant. ... Deep sky objects. Pyxis lies in the plane of the Milky Way, although part of the eastern edge is dark, with material obscuring our galaxy arm there. NGC 2818 is a planetary nebula which lies within a dim open cluster of magnitude 8.2. NGC 2613 is a spiral galaxy of magnitude 10.5 which appears spindle shaped as it is almost edge-on to observers on Earth. Henize 2-10 is a dwarf galaxy which lies some 30 million light years away. It is notable for having a black hole around a million solar masses at its centre. Known as a starburst galaxy due to very high rates of star formation, it has a bluish colour due to the huge numbers of young stars within it. [Pyxis. Wikipedia]