Microscopium is a far-from convincing representation of the microscope, as imagined by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in the mid-1700s. The constellation -- about thirty degrees west of Fomalhaut -- fills in some of the bleaker areas between Sagittarius, Capricornus,and Piscis Austrinus. Many of the stars have continued to carry older labels, such as 1 PsA and 4 PsA, reminders that they were once part of Piscis Austrinus. Click on alpha Mic. |