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Reticulum was introduced by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in the mid
1700s, meant to commemorate the reticle, an instrument used by Lacaille
to measure star positions.
Reticulum is a very small and rather bleak
constellation, with stars in the third to
fifth magnitude range.
Double stars:
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Zeta Reticuli is a wide visual binary of two yellow stars:
5.2, 5.5; PA 222 degrees, separation 130".
Theta Reticuli: 5.9, 8.0; PA 4 degrees, separation 4.1".
Variable stars:
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Gamma Reticuli is a semi-regular: 4.42-4.64 every 25 days or
so.
Deep Sky Objects:
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NGC 1559 is a large and fairly bright spiral galaxy seen face on.
It's a Seyfert galaxy (i.e. it's a source of significant nonthermal
emissions, such as x-rays and ultaviolet). The galaxy is found between
alpha and theta Ret.
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A printed version of this web site ["The Constellations
Pocket Guide"] is available, covering all 88 constellations and their graphics.
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© 2000 by Richard Dibon-Smith.
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