Pictor - The Painter

Pictor lies west of Carina and east of Dorado in a sparse region with no stars brighter than third magnitude. It is a small southern constellation, not visible from the northern hemisphere.

History and Mythology

Pictor is one of the constellations created by Lacaille, who named many southern constellations after artistic and scientific instruments. It was originally called Equuleus Pectoris, meaning the "Painter's Easel". Today the name has been shortened to refer to a painter. It has no ancient mythology associated.

Notable Objects

Pictor is somewhat overshadowed by the brilliant stars in Carina and the Large Magellanic Cloud in Dorado. Its brightest star is Alpha Pictoris, with a magnitude of 3.3 and at a distance of 100 light-years. Pictor contains a famous red dwarf star known as Kapteyn's Star, which is about 9th magnitude. It is one the closest stars, at a distance of 12.7 light-years.

There are a number of faint galaxies, but none are brighter than 12th magnitude.