This small and insignificant constellation
in the southern hemisphere, representing a sculptor’s
chisel, is one of the inventions of the 18th-century French
astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille. He introduced it on his
map of the southern stars in 1756 under the French name les Burins. On his map
of 1763 this was Latinized to Caelum Scalptorium, since
shortened simply to Caelum. Lacaille described it as a pair of
crossed burins (sharp engraving tools) connected by a ribbon.
There are no legends associated with the constellation and its
stars are faint.
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Caelum shown as Caela Scalptoris on the Uranographia of Johann Bode, who added two scribing tools to the pair of burins described by Lacaille. For Lacaille’s original depiction, see here.
© Ian Ridpath. All rights reserved
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