Sextans is a faint, minor constellation on the celestial equator which was introduced in 1687 by Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius.

Sextans is a medium sized constellation bordering Leo to the north, touching on Hydra to the southwest, and Crater to the southeast.

He labeled the five brightest stars using Greek letters Alpha (α) to Epsilon (ε) in his Uranometria Argentina.

[22] In June 2015, astronomers reported evidence for population III stars in the Cosmos Redshift 7 galaxy (at z = 6.60) found in Sextans.

Such stars are likely to have existed in the very early universe (i.e., at high redshift), and may have started the production of chemical elements heavier than hydrogen that are needed for the later formation of planets and life as we know it.