SOUTHERN DORADO, RETICULUM, AND PICTOR
The southern portions of Pictor, Dorado, and Reticulum sprawl
across the top of the picture (northern Dorado
seen along with northern Horologium). Alpha Pictoris is the
bright star at left, Beta Dor the bright star at top center,
and Alpha Reticuli is the brightest at the upper right corner.
Gamma Ret, not seen because of its redness, is marked by the
blue circle.
Northern Pictor is seen to the west of
Canopus in Carina.
In the center is the faint glow of the Large Magellanic Cloud,
a nearby satellite galaxy to our own, located about 160,000 light years
away. Toward the bottom lie Volans, Mensa,
and Hydrus. The bright star toward lower right is Gamma Hydri.
Dorado contains the South Ecliptic Pole, the southern perpendicular to the
Ecliptic (the apparent path of the Sun, which defines the Zodiac).
The North Ecliptic Pole is in Draco.
Photo by Greg Dimijian.