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Sextans

The Sextant

Map of Sextans Map of Sextans

Wedged between Leo and Hydra on the Celestial Equator is a constellation consisting of a just few faint stars: Sextans, the Sextant.

Sextans contain no significantly bright stars, but the three that make up the main triangular form of the constellation are visible in this image. The brightest, Alpha Sextantis, is northward and somewhat westward (right) of centre. The other two stars of the formation, Beta Sextantis and Gamma Sextantis, are also visible, but extremely faint. Beta lies to the east (left) of Alpha, while the even fainter Gamma Sextantis is only barely visible near the southern edge of the image. (The brightest star in this image is not part of Sextans at all - the orange fourth-magnitude star in the northwestern quadrant is Ukdah or Iota Hydrae, in the neighbouring constellation of Hydra.) Imagery provided by Aladin sky atlas

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