Constellation
Contains the south celestial pole, though it has no bright star marking it precisely as Polaris does in the north.
| Type | Constellation |
|---|---|
| Area of sky | 291 sq° |
| Brightest star | Nu Octantis |
| Brightest star magnitude | mag 3.73 |
| Hemisphere | Southern |
| Zodiac constellation | No |
| Discovered | 1752 |
A constellation is a pattern drawn on the sky rather than a physical grouping: its stars are usually unrelated and sit at wildly different distances, just lined up as seen from Earth.
Octans covers 291 square degrees of sky, which is 0.7 percent of the whole celestial sphere.
That makes it the 50th largest of the 88 constellations the International Astronomical Union recognises.
It sits in the southern sky.
Its brightest star reaches magnitude 3.73, bright enough to pick out with the naked eye under a dark sky.
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