Sculptor
What is Sculptor?
Constellations· Autumn evenings · empty sky east of Fomalhaut. A southern constellation created by Lacaille. It faces away from the Milky Way, so it has few bright stars but many distant galaxies, led by the bright Sculptor Galaxy, NGC 253.
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Stars of the figure
| Star | Magnitude |
|---|---|
| Alpha Sculptoris | 4.3 |
The 1 brightest of the 2 stars used in the figure (1 lines). Lower magnitude means brighter.
Deep-sky objects near this constellation
Constellation basics
| Season | Oct–Nov evenings, low in the south; visible from New York and, very low, from London |
|---|---|
| Brightest star | α Sculptoris, mag 4.3 |
| How to find | east of Fomalhaut, south of Cetus |
| Area rank | 36th of 88 |
Figures are representative approximations. Source: compiled from NASA and IAU public data.
The Sculptor Dwarf — a faint neighbour galaxy found in 1937
About 290,000 light-years away in the direction of Sculptor lies a small galaxy. It is the Sculptor Dwarf, found on photographs in 1937 by the American astronomer Harlow Shapley. It holds millions of stars, but they are spread so thinly that it looked extremely faint, and at first Shapley could not tell whether it was a galaxy or a star cluster.
The discovery showed for the first time that more small, faint galaxies might surround the Milky Way, and more than sixty such satellites are now known. Most of the Sculptor Dwarf's stars are over ten billion years old. The speeds of those stars show that most of the galaxy's mass is invisible dark matter.
Sculptor also holds a nearby group of galaxies. NGC 253, the edge-on spiral NGC 55 and the face-on spiral NGC 300 form the Sculptor Group. It is one of the closest groups of galaxies beyond the Local Group, the group that contains our own Milky Way.
The constellation in depth
Sculptor was created in the 1750s by the French astronomer Lacaille. He first called it the Sculptor's Studio, but the long name was later shortened. All of its stars are around fourth magnitude, so to the naked eye it looks like an almost empty patch of sky.
There is a reason for the lack of stars. Sculptor lies toward the Milky Way's 'south pole', the direction farthest from the band of the Milky Way. Few of our galaxy's stars and little of its dust lie that way, so the galaxies beyond are seen clearly.
The best known is the Sculptor Galaxy, NGC 253. It is a large spiral about 11 million light-years away, with a burst of new stars forming at its centre, and it is bright enough for binoculars. The Cartwheel Galaxy, which took its wheel shape when another galaxy passed through its middle, also lies in this direction.
From mid-northern latitudes it can be seen low in the south on October and November evenings. Look east of the bright star Fomalhaut and south of Cetus. In the Sky view, set New York on a November evening and the constellation appears just above the southern horizon.
Frequently asked
- When can I see Sculptor?
- Sculptor is best seen in Oct–Nov evenings, low in the south; visible from New York and, very low, from London.
- How do I find Sculptor?
- To find Sculptor, look for east of Fomalhaut, south of Cetus.
- What is the brightest star in Sculptor?
- The brightest star in Sculptor is Alpha Sculptoris, at magnitude 4.3.
Related
Figures are representative approximations. Simulated positions use J2000 mean elements.