Indus, the Indian, is a faint southern constellation of the spring sky, and the direction of Epsilon Indi, one of the Sun’s nearest neighbours.
At a glance
| stars in the figure | 5 |
|---|---|
| nearest star of the figure | Eta Indi, 78.8 light-years (24.2 pc) |
| farthest star of the figure | Beta Indi, 612 light-years (188 pc) |
| depth | the farthest is 7.8 × farther than the nearest |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Indus
Indus was drawn from the observations of the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman, and given its form by Petrus Plancius. It shows a human figure, a native of the lands the voyagers visited; whether the people of the East Indies or of the Americas were meant is not clear. It lies between Grus, Pavo and Telescopium.
Its brightest star, Alpha Indi, is an orange giant, traditionally called the Persian. Within its borders, though not part of its figure, lies Epsilon Indi, a nearby star a little smaller and cooler than the Sun, with a pair of brown dwarfs orbiting far from it and a giant planet closer in. Indus is best seen on evenings in the southern spring, low in the south from northern latitudes.
What you see in the piece
Fly out with CONSTELLATIONS on: Eta Indi is the nearest star of the figure and Beta Indi lies many times deeper, so the Indian’s outline breaks into stars at very different distances. Epsilon Indi, much closer than any of them, is a separate stop.
Questions
Where is Epsilon Indi?
In the constellation Indus, in the southern sky. It is one of the Sun’s nearest neighbours, though it is not one of the stars that draw the figure.
How far away are the stars of Indus?
The nearest star of the figure is Eta Indi, 78.8 light-years (24.2 pc) away, and the farthest is Beta Indi, 612 light-years (188 pc).