Constellation Pyxis (Compass)

Properties

Pyxis is between Antlia> and Puppis, north of Vela. It is an inconspicuous constellation made up of stars of almost 4th magnitude. The area is 221 square degrees and the centre culminates around midnight on February 3rd. ^{[9, 15]}

Data for constellation Pyxis ^[150]
IAU Name	Pyxis
IAU Genitive	Pyxidis
IAU Abbr.	Pyx
English Name	Compass
Culmination at local midnight	1 February
Season (Latitude +46.8°)	October … April
Right Ascension (J2000.0)	08^h 26^m 43^s … 09^h 27^m 37^s
Declination (J2000.0)	-37° 17' 31" … -17° 24' 41"
Area	221 deg²
Neighbours (N↻)	Hya, Pup, Vel, Ant

Deep-Sky Object Descriptions

Abell 29

Kohoutek 1-1

NGC 2613

Catalogues

Mythology and History

Pyxis is the smallest and most inconspicuous part of the original constellation Argo Navis, dissolved in 1752 by Abbé Nicolas Louis de Lacaille. The importance of the magnetic compass needle for seafaring is undisputed, although the Argo Navis certainly did not have a compass on board at the time. Pyxis is the Latin term for can or compass case. ^{[7, 21]}