A faint constellation south of Leo,
introduced by the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius in 1687
under the name Sextans Uraniae to commemorate the instrument
with which he measured star positions, and which was destroyed
along with other instruments in a fire at his observatory in
1679.
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Sextans above the coils of Hydra, illustrated in the
Atlas Coelestis of John Flamsteed. For the original depiction
by Hevelius, see here.
Hevelius had continued to make naked-eye
sightings with his sextant throughout his life, even though
telescopes were available; it was perhaps to demonstrate the
keenness of his eyes that he formed Sextans out of such faint
stars, as he also did with another of his inventions, Lynx. The
brightest star in Sextans is of magnitude 4.5 and none of the
stars are named.
© Ian Ridpath. All rights reserved
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