Pictor, the Painter’s Easel, is a faint southern constellation beside Canopus, home to Beta Pictoris, a young star with a dusty disc and giant planets.
At a glance
| stars in the figure | 3 |
|---|---|
| nearest star of the figure | Beta Pictoris, 63.4 light-years (19.4 pc) |
| farthest star of the figure | Gamma Pictoris, 177 light-years (54.2 pc) |
| depth | the farthest is 2.8 × farther than the nearest |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Pictor
Pictor was introduced by Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille as the painter’s easel, one of the arts and instruments he set among the southern stars. It is a thin line of faint stars running beside Canopus, the second-brightest star of the night sky, in neighbouring Carina, with Dorado and Columba on either side.
Its fame belongs to Beta Pictoris, a young white star surrounded by a great disc of dust and debris seen almost edge-on. It was the first such disc around another star to be imaged, and giant planets have since been found orbiting within it. Pictor also contains Kapteyn’s Star, an old red dwarf moving fast through the solar neighbourhood, thought to be a visitor from the Galaxy’s halo.
Pictor is a southern-hemisphere constellation, best seen on summer evenings there. From mid-northern latitudes it stays low on the horizon or never rises.
What you see in the piece
The figure is three stars. Leave the HUMAN EYE view (E) with CONSTELLATIONS (N) on and they spread out: Beta Pictoris lies nearest, the farthest drawn star a few times deeper, and the easel’s straight line bends away in depth.
Questions
What is special about Beta Pictoris?
Beta Pictoris is a young star surrounded by an edge-on disc of dust and debris, the first such disc imaged around another star, with giant planets orbiting inside it.
How far away are the stars of Pictor?
The nearest star of the figure is Beta Pictoris, 63.4 light-years (19.4 pc); the farthest is Gamma Pictoris, 177 light-years (54.2 pc). The farthest is 2.8 × farther than the nearest.