Constellation Profile - Pictor

We are moving to another southern constellation in our tour and it is known as Pictor.  Originally named 'le Chevalet et la Palette' it was meant to represent a painter's easel and palette.  Its celestial latitude runs from 43°S to 64°S.  It is below the horizon for western Canada but you can catch it if you live below 47°N throughout Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes.  It is quite easy to find if you have access to the southern skies.  It sits right between Alpha Carinae (Canopus) and the Large Magellanic Cloud.  Most of the bright stars, however, are at the southerly declinations of the constellation (between 50°S-60°S).  To help locate the constellation if you camp or vacation in the south use the map of the sky below.

Star-hop to Pictor

All artists throughout the enlightenment period carried an easel in their workshop.  Art was a major part of the enlightenment and Lacaille so honoured it by placing an easel in the sky.  It is shown on his original planisphere below.

Lacaille Pictor

This image was improved upon by Johann Bode nearly half a century later in his work the Uranographia.  This is shown below.

Uranographia Pictor

Pictor has a few interesting deep sky objects of note.  NGC 1705 is a lenticular galaxy (intermediate between spiral and elliptical) with a lot of interstellar matter conducive to very active star formation.  There have been many papers written on the star formation within this galaxy.  At 17 million light years from Earth it shines through at magnitude 12.8, within reach of moderate-large amateur telescopes.  The Hubble Space Telescope obtained a really good image of this galaxy.

NGC 1705 (Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA))

I one day hope to catch Pictor in my sights on an expedition to the southern hemisphere, say the Atacama Lodge in the desert of Northern Chile.  However, I have put together a constellation map based on my previous template as shown below.

Pictor

There are some other interesting things within the borders of Pictor.  There is a radio galaxy known as Pictor A nearly half a billion light years away.  It shoots a jet of matter close to the speed of light nearly 1 million light years away.

A star, known as Kapteyn's Star has a very high proper motion through the sky.  At 18" per year it is only second to Barnard's Star.  Ten thousand years ago it sat 7 light years from Earth, now it is almost 13.  It is also the closest known star to our solar system that sits in the galactic halo.  It may have been a member of Omega Centauri, a beautiful globular cluster in the southern sky.