COSMOS / CONSTELLATIONS / SCL
Sculptor
IAU abbreviation Scl. One of the 14 southern constellations that Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille introduced after observing from the Cape of Good Hope in 1751–1752.
STAR CHART
KEY FACTS
- IAU abbreviation
- Scl
- Latin name / genitive
- Sculptor / Sculptoris
- Position
- Right ascension ≈ 0 h 28 m; declination −39° to −25°
- Visibility from Türkiye
- Visible in full from anywhere in Türkiye. When it crosses the meridian its centre stands about 18° above the horizon from Ankara.
- Best time to observe
- Best placed at 21:00 Türkiye time around 25 November.
- Number of stars
- 56 stars brighter than magnitude 6.5 in the catalogue; 5 brighter than 5 and 0 brighter than 4.
INTERACTIVE LAB
Where is Sculptor tonight?
The lab opens for Ankara on today’s date. Drag the time slider through the night; the “Best night” button jumps to the date when the constellation is highest at 21:00 (around 25 November). Change the city to compare the view from elsewhere in Türkiye and around the world.
MYTH, HISTORY AND OBSERVING
A faint constellation that Lacaille introduced in 1756 as the “sculptor’s studio”. The south galactic pole lies here; the bright Sculptor Galaxy (NGC 253) can be seen even in binoculars. From Türkiye it is followed low in the south on autumn evenings.
BRIGHTEST STARS
| Star | Magnitude | Distance (light-years) | Spectral type |
|---|---|---|---|
| α Scl | 4.30 | 777 | B7IIIp |
| β Scl | 4.38 | 174 | B9.5IVMNpe |
| γ Scl | 4.41 | 182 | K1III |
| δ Scl | 4.59 | 137 | A0V |
| η Scl | 4.86 | 452 | M2/M3III |
| ζ Scl | 5.04 | 503 | B4V |
| ι Scl | 5.18 | 330 | K0III |
| θ Scl | 5.24 | 69 | F3/F5V |
Magnitude: apparent brightness; the smaller the number, the brighter the star. Distances derive from parallax measurements and are uncertain for distant stars. Source: HYG v4.1 star catalogue (CC BY-SA 4.0).
SOURCES
Position, visibility and best observing time were computed approximately for this page from the catalogue stars (Ankara, 39.9° N). The 88 constellations were adopted by the IAU in 1922; their boundaries were drawn by Eugène Delporte in 1930.