Indus constellation

Indus dates from the time of the first Dutch voyages to the East Indies: it goes back to observations by Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman at the end of the 16th century and was adopted by Petrus Plancius and Johann Bayer. It depicts an unclothed figure holding arrows; exactly whom it was meant to represent is not clearly recorded. The constellation lies between Grus, Pavo and Tucana and consists of faint stars, none of which has an official name. Of particular interest is Epsilon Indi, one of the stars closest to the Sun, accompanied by a pair of brown dwarfs and a planet; it is just visible to the naked eye. From Central Europe, however, Indus always remains below the horizon and can only be observed from further south.