A small and very inconspicuous constellation introduced in the 1750s by Lacaille to commemorate the instrument known as the reticule which he used for measuring star positions on his surveys of the southern skies. The best example of a reticule is if you look through a telescope and you see lines that help you target the star you are looking for. These are usually referred to as cross hair wires.
The first reticule or cross hair wire was invented by
Willaim Gascoigne in the late 1630s. It happened by accident when a spider got
into one of his telescopes and spun its web. Gascoigne realised that the web
could be used as a “cross hair wire”. In fact, spider web technology was used
in optical instruments until the second world war. Today synthetic materials
are used.
Its only notable feature is that it lies close to the Large Magellanic Cloud.
As it is a modern constellation there are no myths or legend
attached to it. There is only one bright
stars.
Alpha magnitude 3.3 its G8 giant star with a temperature
5,000’C and is 161 light years away.
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