Month Best Visible
January
Hemisphere Visible
Southern
Pictor has attracted attention in recent years because of its second-brightest star β Pictoris, 63.4 light-years distant, which is surrounded by an unusual dust disk rich in carbon. Kapteyn's Star, a nearby red dwarf at the distance of 12.78 light years, is the closest halo star known.
Pictors name is Latin for painter, but it is in fact an abbreviation of its original name Equuleus Pictoris, the 'painter's easel', and it is normally represented as an easel.
