Editing Pyxis (section)

==Features==

===Stars===
{{See also|List of stars in Pyxis}}
[[File:Sidney Hall - Urania's Mirror - Noctua, Corvus, Crater, Sextans Uraniæ, Hydra, Felis, Lupus, Centaurus, Antlia Pneumatica, Argo Navis, and Pyxis Nautica.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Pyxis can be seen overlying the mast of [[Argo Navis]]|alt=A 19th century coloured engraving of a group of constellations in the Southern Celestial Hemisphere in this plate from ''[[Urania's Mirror]]'' (1824).]]
Lacaille gave [[Bayer designation]]s to ten stars now named Alpha to Lambda Pyxidis, skipping the Greek letters iota and kappa. Although a nautical element, the constellation was not an integral part of the old Argo Navis and hence did not share in the original Bayer designations of that constellation, which were split between Carina, Vela and Puppis.<ref name="wagman" /> Pyxis is a faint constellation, its three brightest stars—[[Alpha Pyxidis|Alpha]], [[Beta Pyxidis|Beta]] and [[Gamma Pyxidis]]—forming a rough line.<ref name="cambridge">{{cite book |author1=Moore, Patrick |author2=Tirion, Wil |title=Cambridge Guide to Stars and Planets |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, United Kingdom |date=1997 |page=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgeguideto00moor/page/118 118] |isbn=978-0-521-58582-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgeguideto00moor|url-access=registration }}</ref> Overall, there are 41 stars within the constellation's borders with [[apparent magnitude]]s brighter than or equal to 6.5.{{efn|1=Objects of magnitude 6.5 are among the faintest visible to the unaided eye in suburban-rural transition night skies.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.skyandtelescope.com/resources/darksky/3304011.html?page=1&c=y |title=The Bortle Dark-Sky Scale |last=Bortle |first=John E. |date=February 2001 |work=[[Sky & Telescope]] |publisher=Sky Publishing Corporation |access-date=1 August 2015 |archive-date=31 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140331202746/http://www.skyandtelescope.com/resources/darksky/3304011.html?page=1&c=y |url-status=dead }}</ref>}}<ref name="tirionconst" />

With an apparent magnitude of 3.68, Alpha Pyxidis is the brightest star in the constellation.<ref name="kaleralpha">{{cite web |last=Kaler |first=Jim |title=Alpha Pyxidis |work=Stars |publisher=University of Illinois |url=http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/alphapyx.html |access-date=6 October 2012}}</ref> Located 880 ± 30 [[light-year]]s distant from Earth,<ref name="van Leeuwen2007">{{cite journal |title=Validation of the new Hipparcos reduction |url=http://www.aanda.org/index.php?option=com_article&access=bibcode&Itemid=129&bibcode=2007A%2526A...474..653VFUL |last1=van Leeuwen |first1=F. |journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics |volume=474 |issue=2 |pages=653–64 |year=2007 |arxiv=0708.1752 |bibcode=2007A&A...474..653V |doi=10.1051/0004-6361:20078357|s2cid = 18759600}}</ref> it is a blue-white [[giant star]] of spectral type B1.5III that is around 22,000 times as [[luminosity|luminous]] as the [[Sun]] and has 9.4 ± 0.7 times its diameter. It began life with a mass 12.1 ± 0.6 times that of the Sun, almost 15 million years ago.<ref name="Nieva 2014">{{cite journal |author1=Nieva, María-Fernanda |author2=Przybilla, Norbert |date=2014 |title=Fundamental properties of nearby single early B-type stars |journal=Astronomy & Astrophysics |volume=566 |pages=11 |doi=10.1051/0004-6361/201423373 |bibcode=2014A&A...566A...7N|arxiv = 1412.1418 |s2cid=119227033 }}</ref><!-- cites previous 2 sentences --> Its light is dimmed by 30% due to [[Cosmic dust|interstellar dust]], so would have a brighter magnitude of 3.31 if not for this.<ref name=kaleralpha/> The second brightest star at magnitude 3.97 is Beta Pyxidis, a yellow [[bright giant]] or [[supergiant]] of spectral type G7Ib-II that is around 435 times as luminous as the Sun,<ref name="Mcdonald">{{cite journal |author=McDonald, I. |author2=Zijlstra, A. A. |author3=Boyer, M. L. |date=2012 |title=Fundamental Parameters and Infrared Excesses of Hipparcos Stars |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |volume=427 |issue=1 |pages=343–57 |bibcode=2012MNRAS.427..343M |arxiv=1208.2037 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.21873.x|doi-access=free |s2cid=118665352 }}</ref> lying 420 ± 10 light-years distant away from Earth.<ref name="van Leeuwen2007"/> It has a companion star of magnitude 12.5 separated by 9 [[minute of arc|arcseconds]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=Bet+Pyx&NbIdent=1&Radius=2&Radius.unit=arcmin&submit=submit+id |title=Beta Pyxidis |work=SIMBAD Astronomical Database |publisher=Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg |access-date=31 July 2015}}</ref> Gamma Pyxidis is a star of magnitude 4.02 that lies 207 ± 2 light-years distant.<ref name="van Leeuwen2007"/> It is an orange giant of spectral type K3III that has cooled and swollen to 3.7 times the diameter of the Sun after exhausting its core hydrogen.<ref name="CADARS">{{cite journal |author1=Pasinetti Fracassini, L. E. |author2=Pastori, L. |author3=Covino, S. |author4=Pozzi, A. |date=2001 |title=Catalogue of Apparent Diameters and Absolute Radii of Stars (CADARS) – Third edition – Comments and statistics |journal=Astronomy & Astrophysics |volume=367 |issue=2 |pages=521–24 |bibcode=2001A&A...367..521P |doi=10.1051/0004-6361:20000451|arxiv = astro-ph/0012289 |s2cid=425754 }}</ref>

[[Kappa Pyxidis]] was catalogued but not given a Bayer designation by Lacaille, but Gould felt the star was bright enough to warrant a letter.<ref name="wagman" /> Kappa has a magnitude of 4.62 and is 560 ± 50 light-years distant.<ref name="van Leeuwen2007"/> An orange giant of spectral type K4/K5III,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=Kap+Pyx&NbIdent=1&Radius=2&Radius.unit=arcmin&submit=submit+id |title=Kappa Pyxidis |work=SIMBAD Astronomical Database |publisher=Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg |access-date=1 July 2015}}</ref> Kappa has a luminosity approximately 965 times that of the Sun.<ref name="Mcdonald" /> It is separated by 2.1 arcseconds from a magnitude 10 star.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Privett |first1=Grant |last2=Jones |first2=Kevin |title=The Constellation Observing Atlas |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |location=New York, New York |date=2013 |page=168 |isbn=978-1-4614-7648-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uN69BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA168}}</ref> [[Theta Pyxidis]] is a [[red giant]] of spectral type M1III and semi-regular variable with two measured periods of 13 and 98.3 days, and an average magnitude of 4.71,<ref name="tabur">{{cite journal |title=Long-term photometry and periods for 261 nearby pulsating M giants |last1=Tabur |first1=V. |last2=Bedding |first2=T.R. |date=2009 |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |volume=400 |issue=4 |pages=1945–61 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.15588.x |doi-access=free |arxiv=0908.3228 |bibcode=2009MNRAS.400.1945T|s2cid=15358380 }}</ref> and is 500 ± 30 light-years distant from Earth.<ref name="van Leeuwen2007"/> It has expanded to approximately 54 times the diameter of the Sun.<ref name="CADARS" />

[[File:Tpyx hst big.jpg|thumb|left|[[Hubble Space Telescope]] picture of [[T Pyxidis]], showing ejected material from past eruptions|alt=An image of a central white object surrounded by white and pale blue markers signifying material in a shell-like pattern around it]]
Located around 4 degrees northeast of Alpha is [[T Pyxidis]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Motz |first1=Lloyd |last2=Nathanson |first2=Carol |date=1988 |title=The Constellations |publisher=Doubleday |location=New York, New York |isbn=978-0-385-17600-2 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/constellations00motz/page/383 383–84] |url=https://archive.org/details/constellations00motz/page/383 }}</ref> a binary star system composed of a [[white dwarf]] with around 0.8 times the Sun's mass and a [[red dwarf]] that orbit each other every 1.8 hours. This system is located around 15,500 light-years away from Earth.<ref name="Chesneau 2011">{{cite journal |author1=Chesneau, O. |author2=Meilland, A. |author3=Banerjee, D. P. K. |author4=Le Bouquin, J.-B. |author5=McAlister, H. |author6=Millour, F. |author7=Ridgway, S. T. |author8=Spang, A. |author9=ten Brummelaar, T. |author10=Wittkowski, M. |author11=Ashok, N. M. |author12=Benisty, M. |author13=Berger, J.-P. |author14=Boyajian, T. |author15=Farrington, Ch. |author16=Goldfinger, P. J. |author17=Merand, A. |author18=Nardetto, N. |author19=Petrov, R. |author20=Rivinius, Th. |author21=Schaefer, G. |author22=Touhami, Y. |author23=Zins, G. |date=2011 |title=The 2011 outburst of the recurrent nova T Pyxidis. Evidence for a face-on bipolar ejection |journal=Astronomy & Astrophysics |volume=534 |id=L11 |page=5 |doi=10.1051/0004-6361/201117792 |bibcode=2011A&A...534L..11C|arxiv = 1109.4534 |s2cid=10318633 }}</ref> A [[nova#Recurrent novae|recurrent nova]], it has brightened to the 7th magnitude in the years 1890, 1902, 1920, 1944, 1966 and 2011 from a baseline of around 14th magnitude. These outbursts are thought to be due to the white dwarf accreting material from its companion and ejecting periodically.<ref name="AAVSOT">{{cite web |url=http://www.aavso.org/vsots_tpyx |title=T Pyxidis: Enjoy the Silence |author=Davis, Kate |date=19 April 2011 |work=Variable Star of the Month |publisher=American Association of Variable Star Observers |access-date=31 July 2015}}</ref>

[[TY Pyxidis]] is an [[Binary star#Eclipsing binaries|eclipsing binary star]] whose apparent magnitude ranges from 6.85 to 7.5 over 3.2 days.<ref name="AAVSOTY">{{cite web |url=http://www.aavso.org/vsx/index.php?view=detail.top&oid=27245 |title=AK Pyxidis |author=Watson, Christopher |date=4 January 2010 |work=The International Variable Star Index |publisher=American Association of Variable Star Observers |access-date=30 July 2015}}</ref> The two components are both of spectral type G5IV with a diameter 2.2 times,<ref name="Strassmeier">{{cite journal |title=Starspots |author=Strassmeier, Klaus G. |date=2009 |journal=The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=251–308 |doi=10.1007/s00159-009-0020-6
|bibcode=2009A&ARv..17..251S|doi-access=free }}</ref> and mass 1.2 times that of the Sun, and revolve around each other every 3.2 days.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The G-type eclipsing binary TY Pyxidis. |last1=Andersen |first1=J. |last2=Popper |first2=D. M. |date=1975 |journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics |volume=39 |pages=131–34 |bibcode=1975A&A....39..131A }}</ref> The system is classified as a [[RS Canum Venaticorum variable]], a binary system with prominent [[starspot]] activity,<ref name="AAVSOTY" /> and lies 184 ± 5 light-years away.<ref name="van Leeuwen2007"/> The system emits X-rays, and analysing the emission curve over time led researchers to conclude that there was a loop of material arcing between the two stars.<ref name="Pres 1995">{{cite journal |author1=Pres, Pawel |author2=Siarkowski, Marek |author3=Sylwester, Janusz |date=1995 |title=Soft X-ray imaging of the TY Pyx binary system - II. Modelling the interconnecting loop-like structure |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |volume=275 |issue=1 |pages=43–55 |bibcode=1995MNRAS.275...43P|doi = 10.1093/mnras/275.1.43 |doi-access=free }}</ref> [[RZ Pyxidis]] is another eclipsing binary system, made up of two young stars less than 200,000 years old. Both are hot blue-white stars of spectral type B7V and are around 2.5 times the size of the Sun. One is around five times as luminous as the Sun and the other around four times as luminous.<ref>{{cite journal |title=RZ Pyxidis – an early-type marginal contact binary |last1=Bell |first1=S. A. |last2=Malcolm |first2=G. J. |journal=[[Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society]] |issn=0035-8711 |volume=227 |issue=2 |date=1987 |pages=481–500 |bibcode=1987MNRAS.227..481B |doi=10.1093/mnras/227.2.481|doi-access=free }}</ref> The system is classified as a [[Beta Lyrae variable]], the apparent magnitude varying from 8.83 to 9.72 over 0.66 days.<ref name="AAVSORZ">{{cite web |url=http://www.aavso.org/vsx/index.php?view=detail.top&oid=27199 |title=RZ Pyxidis |author=Watson, Christopher |date=4 January 2010 |work=The International Variable Star Index |publisher=American Association of Variable Star Observers |access-date=31 July 2015}}</ref> [[XX Pyxidis]] is one of the more-studied members of a class of stars known as [[Delta Scuti variable]]s<ref name="Aerts 2002">{{cite journal |author1=Aerts, C. |author2=Handler, G. |author3=Arentoft, T. |author4=Vandenbussche, B. |author5=Medupe, R. |author6=Sterken, C. |date=2002 |title=The δ Scuti star XX Pyx is an ellipsoidal variable |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |volume=333 |issue=2 |pages=L35–L39 |doi=10.1046/j.1365-8711.2002.05627.x |bibcode=2002MNRAS.333L..35A|doi-access=free }}</ref>—short period (six hours at most) pulsating stars that have been used as [[Cosmic distance ladder#Standard candles|standard candles]] and as subjects to study [[astroseismology]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aavso.org/vsots_delsct |title=Delta Scuti and the Delta Scuti Variables |last=Templeton |first=Matthew |date=16 July 2010 |work=Variable Star of the Season |publisher=AAVSO (American Association of Variable Star Observers) |access-date=5 September 2015}}</ref> Astronomers made more sense of its pulsations when it became clear that it is also a binary star system. The main star is a white main sequence star of spectral type A4V that is around 1.85 ± 0.05 times as massive as the Sun. Its companion is most likely a red dwarf of spectral type M3V, around 0.3 times as massive as the Sun. The two are very close—possibly only 3 times the diameter of the Sun between them—and orbit each other every 1.15 days. The brighter star is deformed into an egg shape.<ref name="Aerts 2002"/><!-- cites previous 5 sentences -->

[[AK Pyxidis]] is a red giant of spectral type M5III and semi-regular variable that varies between magnitudes 6.09 and 6.51.<ref name="AAVSOAK">{{cite web |url=http://www.aavso.org/vsx/index.php?view=detail.top&oid=27245 |title=AK Pyxidis |author=Watson, Christopher |date=25 August 2009 |work=The International Variable Star Index |publisher=American Association of Variable Star Observers |access-date=29 July 2015}}</ref> Its pulsations take place over multiple periods simultaneously of 55.5, 57.9, 86.7, 162.9 and 232.6 days.<ref name="tabur" /> [[UZ Pyxidis]] is another semi-regular variable red giant, this time a [[carbon star]], that is around 3560 times as luminous as the Sun with a surface temperature of 3482 K, located 2116 light-years away from Earth.<ref name="Mcdonald" /> It varies between magnitudes 6.99 and 7.83 over 159 days.<ref name="AAVSOUZ">{{cite web |url=http://www.aavso.org/vsx/index.php?view=detail.top&oid=27245 |title=AK Pyxidis |author=Otero, Sebastian Alberto |date=15 April 2012 |work=The International Variable Star Index |publisher=American Association of Variable Star Observers |access-date=31 July 2015}}</ref> [[VY Pyxidis]] is a [[BL Herculis variable]] ([[type II Cepheid]]), ranging between [[apparent magnitude]]s 7.13 and 7.40 over a period of 1.24 days.<ref name="AAVSOVY">{{cite web |url=http://www.aavso.org/vsx/index.php?view=detail.top&oid=27224 |title=VY Pyxidis |author=Wils, Patrick |date=15 November 2011 |work=AAVSO Website |publisher=American Association of Variable Star Observers |access-date=13 July 2014}}</ref> Located around 650 light-years distant, it shines with a [[luminosity]] approximately 45 times that of the Sun.<ref name="Mcdonald" />

The closest star to Earth in the constellation is [[Gliese 318]], a white dwarf of spectral class DA5 and magnitude 11.85.<ref name="Gaia">{{cite journal |author1=Pancino, E. |author2=Altavilla, G. |author3=Marinoni, S. |author4=Cocozza, G. |author5=Carrasco, J. M. |author6=Bellazzini, M. |author7=Bragaglia, A. |author8=Federici, L. |author9=Rossetti, E. |author10=Cacciari, C. |author11=Balaguer Núñez, L. |author12=Castro, A. |author13=Figueras, F. |author14=Fusi Pecci, F. |author15=Galleti, S. |author16=Gebran, M. |author17=Jordi, C. |author18=Lardo, C. |author19=Masana, E. |author20=Monguió, M. |author21=Montegriffo, P. |author22=Ragaini, S. |author23=Schuster, W. |author24=Trager, S. |author25=Vilardell, F. |author26=Voss, H. |date=2012 |title=The Gaia spectrophotometric standard stars survey – I. Preliminary results |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |volume=426 |issue=3 |pages=1767–81 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.21766.x |doi-access=free |bibcode=2012MNRAS.426.1767P|arxiv = 1207.6042 |s2cid=27564967 }}</ref> Its distance has been calculated to be 26 light-years,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Sion |first=Edward M. |date=2009 |title=1.The White Dwarfs Within 20 Parsecs of the Sun: Kinematics and Statistics |journal=The Astronomical Journal |volume=138 |issue=6 |pages=1681–89 |doi=10.1088/0004-6256/138/6/1681 |arxiv=0910.1288 |bibcode=2009AJ....138.1681S|s2cid=119284418 }}</ref> or 28.7 ± 0.5 light-years distant from Earth. It has around 45% of the Sun's mass, yet only 0.15% of its luminosity.<ref name="Subasavage">{{cite journal |author1=Subasavage, John P. |author2=Jao, Wei-Chun |author3=Henry, Todd J. |author4=Bergeron, P. |author5=Dufour, P. |author6=Ianna, Philip A. |author7=Costa, Edgardo |author8=Méndez, René A. |date=2009 |title=The Solar Neighborhood. XXI. Parallax Results from the CTIOPI 0.9&nbsp;m Program: 20 New Members of the 25 Parsec White Dwarf Sample |journal=The Astronomical Journal |volume=137 |issue=6 |pages=4547–60 |doi=10.1088/0004-6256/137/6/4547 |bibcode=2009AJ....137.4547S|arxiv = 0902.0627 |s2cid=14696597 }}</ref><!-- cites previous 1.5 sentences --> [[WISEPC J083641.12-185947.2]] is a [[brown dwarf]] of [[Brown dwarf#Spectral class T|spectral type T8p]] located around 72 light-years from Earth. Discovered by infrared astronomy in 2011, it has a magnitude of 18.79.<ref name="Kirkpatrick2012">{{cite journal |last1=Kirkpatrick |first1=J. Davy |last2=Gelino |first2=Christopher R. |last3=Cushing |first3=Michael C. |last4=Mace |first4=Gregory N. |last5=Griffith |first5=Roger L. |last6=Skrutskie |first6=Michael F. |last7=Marsh |first7=Kenneth A. |last8=Wright |first8=Edward L. |last9=Eisenhardt |first9=Peter R. |last10=McLean |first10=Ian S. |last11=Mainzer |first11=Amanda K. |last12=Burgasser |first12=Adam J. |last13=Tinney |first13=C. G. |last14=Parker |first14=Stephen |last15=Salter |first15=Graeme |title=Further Defining Spectral Type "Y" and Exploring the Low-mass End of the Field Brown Dwarf Mass Function |year=2012 |journal=[[The Astrophysical Journal]] |volume=753 |issue=2 |pages=156 |arxiv=1205.2122 |doi=10.1088/0004-637X/753/2/156 |bibcode=2012ApJ...753..156K|s2cid=119279752 }}</ref><!-- cites previous two sentences -->

===Planetary systems===
Pyxis is home to three stars with confirmed planetary systems—all discovered by [[Doppler spectroscopy]]. A [[hot Jupiter]], [[HD 73256 b]], that orbits [[HD 73256]] every 2.55 days, was discovered using the [[CORALIE spectrograph]] in 2003. The host star is a yellow star of spectral type G9V that has 69% of our Sun's luminosity, 89% of its diameter and 105% of its mass. Around 119 light-years away, it shines with an apparent magnitude of 8.08 and is around a billion years old.<ref name="Udry2003">{{cite journal |title=The CORALIE survey for southern extra-solar planets X. A Hot Jupiter orbiting HD 73256 |last1=Udry |first1=S. |last2=Mayor |first2=M. |last3=Clausen |first3=J. V. |last4=Freyhammer |first4=L. M. |last5=Helt |first5=B. E. |last6=Lovis |first6=C. |last7=Naef |first7=D. |last8=Olsen |first8=E. H. |last9=Pepe |first9=F. |journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics |volume=407 |issue=2 |pages=679–84 |year=2003 |arxiv=astro-ph/0304248 |bibcode=2003A&A...407..679U |doi=10.1051/0004-6361:20030815|s2cid=118889984 }}</ref> [[HD 73267 b]] was discovered with the [[High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher]] (HARPS) in 2008. It orbits [[HD 73267]] every 1260 days, a 7 billion-year-old star of spectral type G5V that is around 89% as massive as the Sun.<ref name="Moutou2009">{{cite journal |title=The HARPS search for southern extra-solar planets XVII. Six long-period giant planets around BD −17 0063, HD 20868, HD 73267, HD 131664, HD 145377, HD 153950 |url=http://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2009/11/aa10941-08/aa10941-08.html |last1=Moutou |first1=C. |last2=Mayor |first2=M. |last3=Lo Curto |first3=G. |last4=Udry |first4=S. |last5=Bouchy |first5=F. |last6=Benz |first6=W. |last7=Lovis |first7=C. |last8=Naef |first8=D. |last9=Pepe |first9=F. |last10=Queloz |first10=D. |last11=Santos |first11=N. C. |journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics |volume=496 |issue=2 |pages=513–19 |date=2009 |arxiv=0810.4662 |bibcode=2009A&A...496..513M |doi=10.1051/0004-6361:200810941|s2cid=116707055 }}</ref> A [[red dwarf]] of spectral type M2.5V that has around 42% the Sun's mass, [[Gliese 317]] is orbited by two gas giant planets. Around 50 light-years distant from Earth, it is a good candidate for future searches for more terrestrial rocky planets.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Astrometry and radial velocities of the planet host M dwarf Gliese 317: new trigonometric distance, metallicity and upper limit to the mass of Gliese 317 b |last1=Anglada-Escude |first1=Guillem |last2=Boss |first2=Alan P. |last3=Weinberger |first3=Alycia J. |last4=Thompson |first4=Ian B. |last5=Butler |first5=R. Paul |last6=Vogt |first6=Steven S. |last7=Rivera |first7=Eugenio J. |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |date=2012 |volume=764 |issue=1 |pages=37A |bibcode=2012ApJ...746...37A |doi=10.1088/0004-637X/746/1/37 |arxiv=1111.2623|s2cid=118526264 }}</ref>

===Deep sky objects===
[[File:NGC 2818 by the Hubble Space Telescope.jpg|thumb|right|The planetary nebula NGC 2818, imaged by the Hubble telescope|alt=A coloured oval cloud of material against a dark background]]
Pyxis lies in the [[Galactic plane|plane]] of the [[Milky Way]], although part of the eastern edge is dark, with material obscuring our galaxy arm there. [[NGC 2818]] is a [[planetary nebula]] that lies within a dim [[open cluster]] of magnitude 8.2.<ref>{{cite book |last=Inglis |first=Mike |title=Astronomy of the Milky Way: Observer's Guide to the Southern Sky |publisher=Springer |location=New York, New York |date=2004 |isbn=1-85233-742-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1r0qvMjSCGAC&pg=SA3-PA31}}</ref> [[NGC 2818A]] is an [[open cluster]] that lies on line of sight with it.<ref name=inglisOC/> [[K 1-2]] is a planetary nebula whose central star is a [[spectroscopic binary]] composed of two stars in close orbit with [[Astrophysical jet|jets]] emanating from the system. The surface temperature of one component has been estimated at as high as 85,000&nbsp;K.<ref name="Exter 2003">{{cite journal |title=The planetary nebula K 1-2 and its binary central star VW Pyx |author1=Exter, K. M. |author2=Pollacco, D. L. |author3=Bell, S. A. |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |volume=341 |issue=4 |pages=1349–59 |year=2003 |doi=10.1046/j.1365-8711.2003.06505.x |bibcode=2003MNRAS.341.1349E|url=https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article-pdf/341/4/1349/3501479/341-4-1349.pdf |doi-access=free }}</ref> [[NGC 2627]] is an [[open cluster]] of magnitude 8.4 that is visible in binoculars.<ref name="inglisOC">{{cite book |last=Inglis |first=Mike |title=Observer's Guide to Star Clusters |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |location=New York, New York |date=2013 |pages=202–03 |isbn=978-1-4614-7567-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ewHABAAAQBAJ&pg=PA202}}</ref>

Discovered in 1995,<ref name="Irwin 1995">{{cite journal |title=The PYXIS Cluster: A Newly Identified Galactic Globular Cluster |author1=Irwin, M. J. |author2=Demers, Serge |author3=Kunkel, W. E. |journal=Astrophysical Journal Letters |volume=453 |page=L21 |year=1995 |doi=10.1086/513301 |bibcode=1995ApJ...453L..21I|doi-access=free }}</ref> the [[Pyxis globular cluster]] is a 13.3 ± 1.3 billion year-old [[globular cluster]] situated around 130,000 light-years distant from Earth and around 133,000 light-years distant from the centre of the Milky Way—a region not previously thought to contain globular clusters.<ref name="1996AJ....112.2013S">{{cite journal |title=Deep Photometry of the Outer Halo Globular Cluster in PYXIS |author1=Sarajedini, Ata |author2=Geisler, Doug |journal=Astronomical Journal |volume=112 |year=1996 |page=2013 |doi=10.1086/118159 |bibcode=1996AJ....112.2013S|doi-access=free }}</ref> Located in the [[galactic halo]], it was noted to lie on the same plane as the [[Large Magellanic Cloud]] and the possibility has been raised that it might be an escaped object from that galaxy.<ref name="Irwin 1995"/>

[[NGC 2613]] is a spiral galaxy of magnitude 10.5 which appears spindle-shaped as it is almost edge-on to observers on Earth.<ref>{{cite book |first=Stephen James |last=O'Meara |title=Steve O'Meara's Herschel 400 Observing Guide |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, United Kingdom |date=2007 |isbn=978-0-521-85893-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nyh9fAC_tpIC&pg=PA82}}</ref> [[Henize 2-10]] is a dwarf galaxy which lies 30 million light-years away. It has a black hole of around a million solar masses at its centre. Known as a [[starburst galaxy]] due to very high rates of star formation, it has a bluish colour due to the huge numbers of young stars within it.<ref>{{cite web |title=Henize 2–10: A Surprisingly Close Look at the Early Cosmos |work=Chandra X-Ray Observatory |publisher=NASA |url=http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2011/he210/ |access-date=6 October 2012}}</ref>