Caelum - The Sculptors Chisel

Learn about the constellation Caelum - The Sculptors Chisel, location, facts, mythology, meteor showers and deep space objects.

Caelum is a minor southern constellation introduced by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille.

Location: Southern Constellation 5h RA -40° Dec

Caelum has just one new general catalogued galaxy NGC 1679 of the 13th magnitude. Gamma Caelum is a double star consisting of a red giant and a white giant.

Mythology

Since this is a southern constellation, invented in the 17th century, there is no pre-17th-century mythology associated with it.

Deep Space Objects

Due to its small size and location away from the plane of the Milky Way, Caelum is a rather barren constellation, with few objects of interest.

The only deep-sky object in Caelum to receive much attention is HE0450-2958, an unusual Seyfert galaxy. Originally, the jet's host galaxy proved elusive to find, and this jet appeared to be emanating from nothing. Although it has been suggested that the object is an ejected supermassive black hole, the host is now agreed to be a small galaxy that is difficult to see due to light from the jet and a nearby starburst galaxy.