Reticulum is located between Dorado and Horologium, and just north of the Large Magellanic Cloud. It is not visible from most of the northern hemisphere, and it is an inconspicuous constellation for observers in the southern hemisphere.
History and Mythology
Reticulum was named by Nicholas Louis de Lacaille for the reticle (or cross hairs) in the telescope eyepiece that he used to accurately measure star positions. Reticulum had been called Rhombus in earlier years.
Notable Objects
Alpha Reticuli is a yellow giant of magnitude 3.4. Beta Reticuli is an orange star of 4th magnitude. Zeta Reticuli is a naked eye double star consisting of identical 4th magnitude yellow stars, which are similar to the Sun, and only 40 light years away. In UFO lore, Zeta Reticuli is the star system from which the aliens who supposedly abducted Betty and Barney Frank in the famous 1960s case supposedly originated.
There are no prominent star clusters or nebulae in this constellation. In the southwest corner of Reticulum is NGC 1313. It is a large, barred spiral galaxy of 9th magnitude. In 1962 a 10th magnitude supernova occurred in this galaxy. NGC 1559 is a fainter, 11th magnitude, barred spiral galaxy which is seen nearly edge-on.