The Constellation Pyxis
Pyxis is a small and faint southern constellation which appears highest in the evening sky in the months around January.
It lies just north of the ship of the Argonauts, now divided between the three constellations Carina, Puppis and Vela. In ancient times, the brightest stars of Pyxis once formed the mast of the ship.
The name ‘Pyxis’ is Latin for compass, and was applied to this area of sky by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1756. The compass is represented by a line of three fourth-magnitude stars.
Lying close to the Milky Way, Pyxis is home to four open clusters which have NGC designations: NGC 2627, NGC 2818, NGC 2658 and NGC 2635.
Hover the pointer over the name of an object to highlight its position on the starchart to the right, or click to see more information.
| Stars | Open Clusters | Globular Clusters | Galaxies |
| α-Pyx (mag 3.6) | NGC 2627 (mag 8.4) | NGC 2613 (mag 10.4) | |
| β-Pyx (mag 4.0) | NGC 2658 (mag 9.2) | NGC 2663 (mag 10.6) | |
| γ-Pyx (mag 4.0) | NGC 2635 (mag 11.2) | IC 2469 (mag 11.1) | |
| κ-Pyx (mag 4.6) | NGC 2818 | NGC 2717 (mag 12.3) | |
| λ-Pyx (mag 4.7) | NGC 2888 (mag 12.6) | ||
| θ-Pyx (mag 4.7) | NGC 2891 (mag 12.6) | ||
| δ-Pyx (mag 4.9) | NGC 2883 (mag 13.7) | ||
| ζ-Pyx (mag 4.9) | NGC 2821 (mag 13.9) | ||
| HIP 43352 (mag 5.2) | NGC 2772 (mag 14.2) | ||
| η-Pyx (mag 5.2) | |||
| HIP 42430 (mag 5.3) | |||
| HIP 41817 (mag 5.4) | |||
| ε-Pyx (mag 5.6) | |||
| HIP 41723 (mag 5.6) | |||
| HIP 42923 (mag 5.7) | |||
| HIP 41515 (mag 5.7) | |||
| HIP 43370 (mag 5.9) | |||
| HIP 42147 (mag 6.0) | |||
| HIP 43002 (mag 6.1) | |||
| HIP 42928 (mag 6.1) | |||
| HIP 42455 (mag 6.1) | |||
| HIP 46329 (mag 6.1) | |||
| HIP 44887 (mag 6.1) | |||
| HIP 43394 (mag 6.2) | |||
| HIP 44290 (mag 6.2) | |||
| HIP 44130 (mag 6.2) | |||
| HIP 41949 (mag 6.3) | |||
| HIP 43114 (mag 6.3) | |||
| HIP 41449 (mag 6.3) | |||
| VX Pyx (mag 6.4) |
