Reticulum

Reticulum

Reticulum is a small and faint constellation in the southern sky. Its name comes from the Latin word for a small net or reticle. This refers to the crosshairs in telescopes used to measure star positions.

You can best see Reticulum between October and December. It is not easy to spot because it is very dim. It cannot be seen from places north of the 30th parallel north, which includes most of North America and Europe.

Even though Reticulum is small and faint, it has interesting stars and objects. Astronomers enjoy studying it. It helps us understand where things are located in space.

History

A constellation in this area was first named Rhombus by Isaac Habrecht II in 1621. Later, the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille called it le Réticule Rhomboide, to honor his telescope eyepiece. The name was later changed to Reticulum.

The constellation Reticulum became official in 1922 at the First General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union. Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte helped set its borders using arcs of right ascension and declination.

Features

See also: List of stars in Reticulum

Reticulum is a small and faint group of stars in the southern sky. It has only a few bright stars that can be seen without special equipment. One of its stars, called Alpha Reticuli, is known as Rhombus. Another star, R Reticuli, changes in brightness over time.

The area of the sky where Reticulum is located also includes a special kind of galaxy called Reticulum II. There is also a large group of galaxies called the Horologium-Reticulum Supercluster, which is very far away from Earth.