Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A constellation in the equatorial region of the sky near Leo and Hydra. Also called Sextant.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A bronze coin of the ancient Roman republic, in value one sixth of the as. (See as.) The obverse type is the head of Mercury; the reverse type, the prow of a vessel, and two pellets (• •) as the mark of value.
- n. [capitalized] In astronomy, a constellation introduced by Hevelius in 1690. It represents the instrument used by Tycho Brahe in Uranienborg (island of Hven, Sweden), but it is placed between Leo and Hydra, two animals of a fiery nature according to the astrologers, to commemorate the burning of his own instruments and papers in 1679. The brightest star of the constellation is of magnitude 4.5. Also called
Uranies Sextans , and Sextant.
Wiktionary
- n. astronomy A dim spring constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a sextant. It lies south of the constellation of Leo.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Rom. Antiq.) A Roman coin, the sixth part of an as.
- n. (Astron.) A constellation on the equator south of Leo; the Sextant.
Etymologies
- Named by the astronomer Johannes Hevelius in 1690. From Latin sextans, a "sextant" (nautical neasuring implement) (Wiktionary)
- New Latin sextāns, sextant; see sextant. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The little asterism Sextans, the Sextant, lies in the region between”
“Stargazers should turn their eyes to the constellations of Leo, Sextans and Hydra to glimpse this rare visitor.”
“The Dwarf galaxies Abundances and Radial-velocities Team used the FLAMES instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope to measure the spectra of over 2000 individual giant stars in four of our galactic neighbours, the Fornax, Sculptor, Sextans and Carina dwarf galaxies.”
“The Dwarf galaxies Abundances and Radial-velocities Team used the FLAMES instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope to measure the spectra of over 2000 individual giant stars in four of our galactic neighbors, the Fornax, Sculptor, Sextans and Carina dwarf galaxies.”
“The outlines of the constellations is the best available including ones like Sextans which rarely look like a sextant.”
“This pair of galaxies are in close proximity to one another in the constellation of Sextans (the sextant).”
“The Dwarf galaxies Abundances and Radial-velocities Team used the FLAMES instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope to measure the spectra of over 2000 individual giant stars in four of our galactic neighbors, the Fornax, Sculptor, Sextans and Carina dwarf galaxies.”
Missing Early Stars Found, With No Place Left to Hide | Universe Today
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘Sextans’.
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Constellations
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) recognizes 88 official constellations.
Orion, Taurus, Andromeda, Aquila, Lyra, Boötes, Cygnus, Canis Major, Cassiopeia, Auriga, Lupus, Pyxis and 76 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for Sextans.
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