Constellation Profile - Reticulum

We are almost finished with Lacaille's constellations and will continue with Reticulum.  The pattern of stars now recognized as Reticulum was once noted in the early 17th century as 'Rhombus' by another French astronomer, Isaac Habrecht II.  Reticulum is a very small constellation and is 81st out of 88 in area.  The constellation is only visible at latitudes below 37°N and fully visible at latitudes below 23°N.  Consider this your next target for your Hawaiian vacation.  It is quite simple to find.  Look halfway between Alpha Eridani (Achernar) and Alpha Carinae (Canopus), the second brightest star in the sky.  You should see an apparent rhombus shape which forms the major structure of the constellation.  The map below should help you find it.

Star-hop to Reticulum

Lacaille originally named the region, 'le reticule rhomboide' and eventually Latinized to Reticulum.  It fits with the theme of enlightenment lab equipment as it represents the 'reticle'.  A reticle is a set of lines on an optical device to aid in measurement.  In Lacaille's sense he meant an eyepiece for a telescope.  I have a reticle eyepiece that I use for measuring the drift due to poor polar alignment.  In the near future I will likely get an illuminated reticle that includes a microruler and microprotractor.  This will be useful for measuring distance and angle of multiple star systems.  Lacaille included this constellation in his planisphere below.

Lacaille Reticulum

Building upon Lacaille's work, Johann Bode popularized the constellation in his Uranographia shown below.

Uranographia Reticulum

Even though it is a small constellation, Reticulum has several worthwhile galaxies amateur astronomers can hunt for.  NGC 1313 is the brightest with an apparent magnitude around 9.0.  This galaxy is also known as the 'Topsy Turvy Galaxy'.  It is a barred spiral galaxy with an uneven shape and has been referred to as one of the southern sky's 'showpiece galaxies'.  NGC 1313 has a candidate intermediate mass black hole (IMBH).  IMBH's are a seemingly rare phenomenon and there is not currently any confirmed detection.  An article in S&T about NGC 1313 is presented below.

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/new-mid-size-black-hole-2209201523/

I scaled the constellation down into my own format.  It was particularly easy since it is such a small constellation consisting of an easy shape.

Reticulum

If I have the opportunity to travel far South I will definitely stick this constellation on my bucket list.  It would be fun to follow in Lacaille's footsteps and spend a deal of time in the southern hemisphere making some great observations.

An interesting story floats around the binary star system Zeta Reticuli (pair of stars on the right side of the above image).  A couple known as Betty and Barney Hill claimed to have been abducted by aliens from the Zeta Reticuli system.  A bestselling novel and movie were created around this incident.  It is quite fantastical, reminiscent of an episode of the X-Files.  After reading the story, Zeta Reticuli seems a bit creepy now.  Much to the chagrin of conspiracy enthusiasts it currently has no detected extrasolar planets.  Or that's what they want you to think?

I am enjoying writing about these small southern constellations.  They all seem to tell a different, yet interesting story.  Even the smallest constellation may have mysteries lurking within.  Think about this the next time you enjoy the night looking at your favourite collection of stars.