Reticulum (The Reticle)

Small southern constellation named for a telescope's cross-hairs.

Core Principles & Analysis

• Lacaille created it around 1752 as the reticle, the grid of lines in a telescope eyepiece he used to measure star positions.
• It is one of the smallest southern constellations and holds no bright stars.
• The nearby binary Zeta Reticuli, about 39 light-years away, made the constellation famous far beyond astronomy.

Specifications & Metrics

• BRIGHTEST STAR: α Reticuli
• HEMISPHERE: Southern
• BEST VIEWED: December