Antlia (Latin for “pump”) is a constellation in the Southern Celestial Hemisphere. It was first introduced by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1752, and it is one of the 88 modern constellations recognized today. Antlia lies close to Hydra, Vela, and Puppis—constellations that are part of the larger grouping known as Argo Navis—but it does not belong to this group itself.
The brightest star in Antlia is Alpha Antliae, also known as Acrux or Alpha Crucis, with an apparent magnitude of 0.8. Other stars include Beta Antliae (Toliman), Gamma Antliae (Vindemiatrix), Delta1 and 2 Antlias (Alula Australis). The two most notable deep sky objects within its boundaries are NGC 2997, a spiral galaxy located about 32 million light years away from Earth; and NGC 3132 aka Eight-Burst Nebula or Southern Ring Nebula – a planetary nebula residing some 4500 light years away from us.
As far as mythology goes, there is no specific association between any particular figure or event with this constellation being so faint that it has been overlooked by most ancient cultures throughout history; however some have recently suggested that it may depict a pump used to irrigate crops during times of drought – hence its Latin name – although there’s no clear evidence to support this theory either way.
Despite its relative obscurity compared to other more famous constellations such as Orion or Ursa Major, Antlia still offers plenty for stargazers and amateur astronomers alike: Its proximity to other brighter southern constellations makes it an ideal spot for observing both stellar phenomena like binary stars and distant galaxies alike; while its location near the galactic plane gives us great visibility into our own Milky Way Galaxy too!