Sculptor - The Sculptor

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

Sculptor is a minor southern constellation which was introduced by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille. He originally named it after a sculptor's studio, but the name was later shortened.

Location: Southern Constellation 0h RA -30° Dec

The constellation contains the Sculptor Dwarf, a dwarf galaxy which is a member of the Local Group, as well as the Sculptor Group, the group of galaxies closest to the Local Group. The Sculptor Galaxy (NGC 253), a barred spiral galaxy and the largest member of the group, lies near the border with Cetus. Another prominent member of the group is the irregular galaxy NGC 55.

Mythology

As it was introduced during the 17th century, there is no mythology associated with it.

The French astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille first described the constellation in French as l'Atelier du Sculpteur (the sculptor's studio) in 1751-52 depicting a three-legged table with a carved head on it, and an artist's mallet and two chisels on a block of marble alongside it.

Sculptor Deep Space Objects

No stars brighter than 3rd magnitude are located in the constellation. This is explained by the fact that Sculptor contains the south galactic pole where stellar density is very low.

The constellation contains the Sculptor Dwarf, a dwarf galaxy which is a member of the Local Group, as well as the Sculptor Group, the group of galaxies closest to the Local Group. The Sculptor Galaxy (NGC 253), a barred spiral galaxy and the largest member of the group, lies near the border between Sculptor and Cetus. Another prominent member of the group is the irregular galaxy NGC 55.

One unique galaxy is the Cartwheel Galaxy, at a distance of 500 million light-years. The Cartwheel Galaxy is the result of a galaxy merger. It has a core of older, yellow stars, and an outer ring of younger, blue stars.

In this table, the observation month represents the month in which the object reaches its highest point in the sky. It can also be viewed a few months before and after depending on your location. Direction is the compass direction in which the object is located, with Z meaning Zenith or overhead.