Antlia (The Air Pump)

Faint southern constellation invented to honour a scientific instrument.

Core Principles & Analysis

• Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille created it around 1752 as the machine pneumatica, commemorating Robert Boyle's air pump.
• It is one of the 14 instrument constellations Lacaille charted from the Cape of Good Hope.
• No star in Antlia is brighter than the fourth magnitude.

Specifications & Metrics

• BRIGHTEST STAR: α Antliae
• HEMISPHERE: Southern
• BEST VIEWED: March