Fornax

Also known as For, Fornacis, the Furnace

Fornax () is a constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere, partly ringed by the celestial river Eridanus. Its name is Latin for furnace. It was named by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1756. Fornax is one of the 88 modern constellations.

AI overview

Fornax is a constellation visible in the southern sky, whose name means "furnace" in Latin and was designated by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1756. It is one of the 88 officially recognized constellations in modern astronomy.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Constellation.name: Fornax
Constellation.abbreviation: For
Constellation.genitive: Fornacis
Constellation.pronounce: , genitive
Constellation.symbolism: the brazier
Constellation.family: La Caille
Constellation.quadrant: SQ1
Constellation.areatotal: 398
Constellation.arearank: 41st
Constellation.numbermainstars: 2
Constellation.numberbfstars: 27
Constellation.numberbrightstars: 0
Constellation.numbernearbystars: 2
Constellation.brighteststarname: α For
Constellation.starmagnitude: 3.80
Constellation.neareststarname: LP 944-20
Constellation.stardistancely: 20.96
Constellation.stardistancepc: 6.43

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Official name: Fornax
Area: 397.5
Image: Constellation Fornax.jpg

Show 4 more facts

time of discovery or invention: 1756-00-00
Commons category: Fornax (constellation)
Commons gallery: Fornax
short name: For

Sources (4)

via Wikidata · CC0

~13 min read

Article

11 sections

Contents

History
Characteristics
Features
Stars
Deep-sky objects
Equivalents
See also
Notes
References
Cited texts
External links

The three brightest stars—Alpha, Beta and Nu Fornacis—form a flattened triangle facing south. With an apparent magnitude of 3.91, Alpha Fornacis is the brightest star in Fornax. Six star systems have been found to have exoplanets. The Fornax Dwarf galaxy is a small faint satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. NGC 1316 is a relatively close radio galaxy.