Constellations · Constellation · Octantis · Oct
Constellation
Octans
The octant — the navigator’s instrument — and the home of the south celestial pole, which has no bright star to mark it.
- Genitive
- Octantis
- Area
- 291 square degrees · 50th of 88
- Brightest star
- · magnitude 3.73
- Naked-eye stars
- 60 brighter than magnitude 6.5
- Highest at midnight
- mid July
Did you know
The southern pole star, Polaris Australis, is barely visible to the naked eye — only about magnitude 5.4. Southern navigators use the Southern Cross instead.
History
Lacaille chose the octant, invented in the 1730s, because it had just revolutionised navigation. Octans never sets from New Zealand or southern Australia.