Editing Pictor (section)

==Features==

===Stars===
{{See also|List of stars in Pictor}}

[[File:Constellation Pictor.jpg|thumb|A photograph showing constellation Pictor as it can be seen by the naked eye (lines have been added that join up its three main stars). The bright star seen near Pictor is Canopus.]]
Pictor is a faint constellation; its three brightest stars can be seen near the prominent [[Canopus]].{{sfn|Moore, ''Stargazing''|2000|p=118}} Within the constellation's borders, there are 49 stars brighter than or equal to [[apparent magnitude]] 6.5.{{efn|1=Objects of magnitude 6.5 are among the faintest visible to the unaided eye in suburban-rural transition night skies{{sfn|The Bortle Dark-Sky Scale}}}}{{sfn|Ridpath, Constellations: Lacerta–Vulpecula}} At apparent magnitude 3.3, [[Alpha Pictoris]] is the brightest star in the constellation; it is an astrometric binary 97 light-years from Earth.{{sfn|SIMBAD Alpha Pictoris}}<ref name="apjss173">{{cite journal |last1=Goldin |first1=A. |last2=Makarov |first2=V. V. |date=November 2007 |title=Astrometric Orbits for Hipparcos Stochastic Binaries |journal=The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series |volume=173 |issue=1 |pages=137–142 |arxiv=0706.0361 |bibcode=2007ApJS..173..137G |doi=10.1086/520513 |s2cid=119586069}}</ref> The primary of this system is an [[A-type star]] of [[Stellar classification#Spectral types|spectral type]] A8VnkA6,{{efn|1=The kA6 notation indicates a weaker than normal [[calcium K-line]] in the [[spectrum]]. The 'n' following the [[main sequence]] [[luminosity class]] of V indicates the [[absorption line]]s in the spectrum are broad and nebulous, because of the rapid spin of the star.{{sfn|Royer 2007}} }}{{sfn|Gray 2006}} a rapidly spinning star with a [[projected rotational velocity]] estimated at 206&nbsp;km/s{{sfn|Royer 2007}} with has a shell of circumstellar gas.{{sfn|Hempel|2003}} [[Beta Pictoris]] is another white main sequence star of spectral type A6V and apparent magnitude 3.86. Located around 63.4&nbsp;light-years distant from Earth,{{sfn|SIMBAD Beta Pictoris}} it is a member of the [[Beta Pictoris moving group]]—a group of 17 star systems around 12 million years old moving through space together.{{sfn|Zuckerman 2001}} In 1984 Beta Pictoris was the first star discovered to have a [[debris disk]].{{sfn|Smith|Terrile|1984}} Since then, two [[exoplanet|exoplanets]] with masses over ten times the mass of Jupiter have been discovered orbiting between 2.7 and eight&nbsp;[[astronomical unit]]s (AU) away from the star, which fit between the [[asteroid belt]] and the orbit of Saturn.<ref>{{Cite Exoplanet Archive|bet Pic|access-date=January 26, 2025}}</ref> [[Beta Pictoris b]] was discovered using [[Methods of detecting extrasolar planets#Direct imaging|direct imagery]] with the [[Very Large Telescope]] in late 2009,<ref>{{harvnb|Lagrange 2010}}; {{harvnb|ESO 2010}}.</ref> while [[Beta Pictoris c]] was discovered via doppler spectroscopy (radial velocity method) in August 2009.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lagrange |first1=A.-M. |last2=Meunier |first2=Pascal Rubini |last3=Keppler |first3=Miriam |last4=Galland |first4=Franck |author5=<em>et al.</em> |date=19 August 2019 |title=Evidence for an additional planet in the β Pictoris system |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-019-0857-1 |journal=Nature Astronomy |volume=3 |issue=12 |pages=1135–1142 |bibcode=2019NatAs...3.1135L |doi=10.1038/s41550-019-0857-1 |s2cid=202126059 |accessdate=20 August 2019|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

[[Gamma Pictoris]] is an [[orange giant]] of spectral type K1III that has swollen to 11&nbsp;times the diameter of the Sun.<ref name="Gallenne2017">{{Citation |last1=Gallenne |first1=A. |title=Fundamental properties of red-clump stars from long-baseline H-band interferometry |date=2018-08-01 |journal=[[Astronomy & Astrophysics]] |volume=616 |pages=A68 |language=en |arxiv=1806.09572 |bibcode=2018A&A...616A..68G |doi=10.1051/0004-6361/201833341 |issn=0004-6361 |last2=Pietrzyński |first2=G. |last3=Graczyk |first3=D. |last4=Nardetto |first4=N. |last5=Mérand |first5=A. |last6=Kervella |first6=P. |last7=Gieren |first7=W. |last8=Villanova |first8=S. |last9=Mennickent |first9=R. E. |last10=Pilecki |first10=B.}}</ref> Shining with an apparent magnitude of 4.5, it lies 186&nbsp;light-years distant from Earth.<ref>{{cite DR3|4767368897757788288}}</ref> [[HD 42540]], called 47 Pictoris by American astronomer [[Benjamin Apthorp Gould]], is a slightly cooler orange giant, with a spectral type of K2.5III and average magnitude 5.04.{{sfn|SIMBAD HR 2196}} It has also been suspected of being a [[variable star]].{{sfn|AAVSO HR 2196}} Lacaille mistakenly named this star Mu Doradus, but had recorded its Right Ascension one hour too low.{{sfn|Harvard College Observatory|1883}} Lacaille named two neighbouring stars Eta Pictoris.{{sfn|Wagman|2003|p=246}}{{efn|1=Like Bayer, Lacaille would simply give two stars very close to each other the same designation with no modifier. It was left to later astronomers such as Gould to designate Eta<sup>1</sup>, Eta<sup>2</sup> etc.{{sfn|Wagman|2003|p=7}}}} [[Eta2 Pictoris|Eta<sup>2</sup> Pictoris]], also known as HR 1663, is an orange giant of spectral type K5III and apparent magnitude 5.05. 474&nbsp;light-years distant,{{sfn|SIMBAD HR 1663}} it has a diameter 5.6&nbsp;times that of the Sun.{{sfn|Pasinetti-Fracassini et al.|2001}} [[Eta1 Pictoris|Eta<sup>1</sup> Pictoris]], also known as HR 1649, is 85&nbsp;light-years distant and is a main sequence star of spectral type F5V and visual magnitude 5.38.{{sfn|SIMBAD HR 1649}} A double star, it has a companion of magnitude 13; the two are separated by 11&nbsp;arcseconds.{{sfn|SIMBAD CD-49 1541B}}

[[File:Beta Pictoris - Comparison.jpg|thumb|Beta Pictoris Comparison<ref>{{cite news|title=Beta Pictoris – Comparison|url=http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/opo1506a/|access-date=26 February 2015|agency=ESA/Hubble}}</ref>]]

Located about 1298 light-years from Earth, [[Delta Pictoris]] is an [[eclipsing binary]] of the [[Beta Lyrae variable|Beta Lyrae]] type.{{sfn|SIMBAD Delta Pictoris}} Composed of two blue stars of spectral types B3III and O9V, the system has a period of 1.67&nbsp;days, and is observed to dip from apparent magnitude 4.65 to 4.9.{{sfn|Malkov|Oblak|2006}} The stars are oval-shaped as they are gravitationally distorted by each other.{{sfn|Cousins|1966}} [[TV Pictoris]] is a [[spectroscopic binary]] system composed of an A-type star and an F-type star which rotate around each other in a very close orbit. The latter star is elliptical in shape and itself varies in brightness.{{sfn|Pavlovski et al.|1998}} The visual magnitude ranges between 7.37 and 7.53 every 20 hours.{{sfn|AAVSO TV Pictoris}}

Aside from Beta, five other stars in Pictor are known to host planetary systems. [[AB Pictoris]] is a [[BY Draconis variable]] star with a substellar companion that is either a large planet or a [[brown dwarf]], which was discovered by direct imaging in 2005.{{sfn|Chauvin 2005}} [[HD 40307]] is an orange main sequence star of spectral type K2.5V and apparent magnitude 7.17 located about 42&nbsp;light-years away. [[Doppler spectroscopy]] with the [[High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher]] (HARPS) indicates that HD 40307 is host to six [[super-Earth]] planets, one of which, [[HD 40307 g]], lies in the [[circumstellar habitable zone]] of the star, and is not close enough to be [[Tidal locking|tidally locked]] (i.e. with the same face always facing the star), unlike the other planets in the same system, and many other planets which orbit close to their parent stars.{{sfn|Tuomi 2013}} [[HD 41004]] is a complex binary system about 139&nbsp;light-years distant. The primary is an orange dwarf of spectral type K1V orbited by a planet roughly 2.65&nbsp;times the mass of Jupiter every 963&nbsp;days, while the secondary is a red dwarf of spectral type M2V and orbited by a brown dwarf that is at least 19&nbsp;times as massive as Jupiter. Both substellar components were discovered by doppler spectroscopy using the [[CORALIE spectrograph]] in 2004 and 2002 respectively.{{sfn|Zucker 2004}}<!-- cites previous two sentences--> [[Kapteyn's Star]], a nearby [[red dwarf]] at the distance of 12.78&nbsp;light-years, has a magnitude of 8.8. It has the largest [[proper motion]] of any star in the sky after [[Barnard's Star]].{{sfn|Motz|Nathanson|1988|pp=374–75}} Moving around the Milky Way in the opposite direction to most other stars, it may have originated in a dwarf galaxy that was merged into the [[Milky Way]], with the main remnant being the [[Omega Centauri]] globular cluster.{{sfn|Kotoneva et al.|2005}} In 2014 analysis of the doppler variations of Kapteyn's Star with the HARPS spectrograph showed that it hosts two super-Earths—[[Kapteyn b]] and Kapteyn c, but the existence of these exoplanet was disproven in 2021.<ref name=":0" /> It is believed that these planets were actually just artifacts of the Kapteyn' star's rotation and activity.<ref name=":0" />

Located 1.5&nbsp;degrees west southwest of Alpha, [[RR Pictoris]] is a [[cataclysmic variable]] that flared up as a [[nova]], reaching magnitude 1.2 on 9 June 1925.{{sfn|Motz|Nathanson|1988|pp=374–75}} Six months after its peak brightness, it had faded to be invisible to the unaided eye, and was magnitude 12.5 by 1975.{{sfn|Burham|2013|pp=1460–62}} [[RR Pictoris]] is a close binary system composed of a [[white dwarf]] and secondary star that orbit each other every 3.48&nbsp;hours—so close that the secondary is filling up its [[Roche lobe]] with stellar material, which is then transferred onto the first star's [[accretion disk]]. Once this material reaches a critical mass, it ignites and the system brightens tremendously. Calculations from the orbital speed suggest the secondary star is not dense enough for its size to still be on the [[main sequence]], so it also must have begun expanding and cooling already after its core ran out of hydrogen fuel.{{sfn|Ribeiro 2006}}  The RR Pictoris system is estimated to lie around 1300 light-years distant from Earth.{{sfn|Duerbeck|1981}}

===Deep-sky objects===
[[File:Pictor A composite.jpg|thumb|Composite image in X-rays by [[Chandra X-ray Observatory]] (blue) and radiowaves by [[Australia Telescope Compact Array]] (red) showing two lobes and a [[Relativistic jet|jet of plasma]] emanating from [[Pictor A]]]]
[[NGC 1705]] is an irregular dwarf galaxy 17 million light-years from Earth. It is one of the most active [[star formation|star forming]] galaxies in the nearby universe, despite the fact that its rate of star formation peaked around 30 million years ago.{{sfn|Wilkins|Dunn|2006}} [[Pictor A]], around 485 million light-years away, is a double-lobed [[radio galaxy]]{{sfn|NED Pictor A}} and a powerful source of [[radio wave]]s in the Southern Celestial Hemisphere.{{sfn|Perley et al.|1997}} From a [[supermassive black hole]] at its centre, a [[relativistic jet]] shoots out to an X-ray hot spot 800,000 light years away.{{sfn|ChandraPR}} [[SPT-CL J0546-5345]] is a massive [[galaxy cluster]] located around 7 billion light-years away with a mass equivalent to approximately 800&nbsp;trillion suns.{{sfn|Ghosts of the Future}}

[[GRB 060729]] was a [[gamma-ray burst]] that was first observed on 29 July 2006. It is likely the signal of a [[Type Ib and Ic supernovae|type Ic supernova]]—the core collapse of a massive star.{{sfn|Cano et al.|2011}} It was also notable for its extraordinarily long X-ray [[gamma-ray burst#Afterglow|afterglow]], detectable 642 days (nearly two years) after the original event.{{sfn|Grupe et al.|2010}} The event was remote, with a [[redshift]] of 0.54.{{sfn|Cano et al.|2011}}