Pyxis

Pyxis is a small and faint southern constellation which appears highest in the evening sky in the months around January.

It lies just north of the ship of the Argonauts, now divided between the three constellations Carina, Puppis and Vela. In ancient times, the brightest stars of Pyxis once formed the mast of the ship.

The name ‘Pyxis’ is Latin for compass, and was applied to this area of sky by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1756. The compass is represented by a line of three fourth-magnitude stars.

In ancient Chinese astronomy, Alpha, Beta and Gamma Pyxidis formed part of Tianmiao, a celestial temple honouring the ancestors of the emperor, along with stars from neighbouring Antlia.

Lying close to the Milky Way, Pyxis is home to four open clusters which have NGC designations: NGC 2627, NGC 2818, NGC 2658 and NGC 2635.

Indian astronomy name of Pyxis is ದಿಕ್ಸೂಚಿ (Diksuchi).

Pyxis contains:

• Stars
  • α-Pyx (mag 3.6)
  • β-Pyx (mag 4.0)
  • γ-Pyx (mag 4.0)
  • κ-Pyx (mag 4.6)
  • λ-Pyx (mag 4.7)
  • θ-Pyx (mag 4.7)
  • δ-Pyx (mag 4.9)
  • ζ-Pyx (mag 4.9)
  • HD 75605 (mag 5.2)
  • η-Pyx (mag 5.2)
  • HD 73752 (mag 5.3)
  • HD 72310 (mag 5.4)
  • ε-Pyx (mag 5.6)
  • HD 72227 (mag 5.6)
  • HD 74824 (mag 5.7)
  • HD 71801 (mag 5.7)
  • HD 75629 (mag 5.9)
  • HD 73072 (mag 6.0)
  • HD 74879 (mag 6.1)
  • HD 74706 (mag 6.1)
  • HD 73900 (mag 6.1)
  • HD 81753 (mag 6.1)
  • HD 78676 (mag 6.1)
  • HD 75649 (mag 6.2)
  • HD 77361 (mag 6.2)
• Open Clusters
  • NGC 2627 (mag 8.4)
  • NGC 2658 (mag 9.2)
  • NGC 2635 (mag 11.2)
  • NGC 2818
• Globular Clusters
  • None
• Galaxy
  • NGC 2613 (mag 10.4)
  • IC 2469 (mag 12.1)
  • NGC 2663 (mag 12.3)
  • NGC 2888 (mag 12.5)
  • NGC 2883 (mag 13.1)
  • NGC 2717 (mag 13.2)
  • NGC 2891 (mag 13.3)
  • NGC 2821 (mag 13.9)
  • NGC 2772 (mag 14.2)