Reticulum Constellation Myths and Facts

Reticulum: The Small Net, The Reticule

Pronunciation: rih-TICK-yuh-lum
Reticulum
Reticulum as depicted by its creator, Nicolas Louis de La Caille.
Reticulum Constellation Profile
Abbreviation: Ret Genitive: Reticuli
Origin: Lacaille Location: Southern Hemisphere
Best View (North): Best View (South):
Bordering Constellations: Hydrus, Dorado, Horologium

The Myth Behind the Constellation Reticulum

Reticulum, “the small net”, is one of the 14 constellations created by Nicolas-Louis de La Caille while mapping the southern-hemisphere stars in the mid-eighteenth century.  He originally titled it le Reticule Romboide, “the rhomboidal reticule”and it represented the reticule in the eyepiece of his telescope, which was used to judge star positions.  La Caille charted over 10,000 stars while he was at his observatory in Cape Town, South Africa.  The name of the constellation was Latinized to Reticulus for his 1763 published work, Coelum Australe Stelliferum.

Reticulum Constellation Points of Interest

Interesting stars and objects.

Bright Stars in Reticulum

There are no stars in Reticulum with magnitude of 3.0 or brighter.