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| English name | Sextant | ||||
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| Major stars | No star of the constellation exceeds the magnitude 3,5. | ||||
| Description | Weak equatorial constellation, situated to the south of Leo.
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| Mythology and history | The constellation was drawn in 1687 by Johannes Hevelius. At first called Sextans Uraniae, it represents the tool used to measure the position of the stars. | ||||
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The brightest star, alpha Sextantis, is of magnitude 4,5. The only interesting object is NGC 3115 (reproduced here on the right), a small galaxy, seen in profile: it is of tenth magnitude and to see it you need a telescope of average power.