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Piscis Austrinus

File:Piscis_Austrinus_IAU.svg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Piscis Austrinus

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Also known as Piscis Australis, Piscis Notius, PsA, Piscis Austrini

constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere

AI overview

Piscis Austrinus is a constellation located in the southern part of the night sky. It is notable for containing Fomalhaut, one of the brightest stars visible from Earth and a significant reference point for astronomers and stargazers.

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

Wikidata facts

Instance of
constellation
Named after
fish
Official name
Piscis Austrinus
Area
245
Shares border with
Aquarius
Image
PiscisAustrinusCC.jpg
Show 5 more facts
Commons category
Piscis Austrinus
topic's main category
Category:Piscis Austrinus
Commons gallery
Piscis Austrinus
short name
PsA
on focus list of Wikimedia project
Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
Sources (4)

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Encyclopedic overview

Piscis Austrinus is a constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere. The name is Latin for "the southern fish", in contrast with the larger constellation Pisces, which represents a pair of fish. Before the 20th century, it was also known as Piscis Notius. Piscis Austrinus was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations. The stars of the modern constellation Grus once formed the "tail" of Piscis Austrinus. In 1597 (or 1598), Petrus Plancius carved out a separate constellation and named it after the crane.

It is a faint constellation, containing only one star brighter than 4th magnitude: Fomalhaut, which is 1st magnitude and the 18th-brightest star in the night sky. Fomalhaut is surrounded by a circumstellar disk, and possibly hosts a planet. Other objects contained within the boundaries of the constellation include Lacaille 9352, one of the brightest red dwarf stars in the night sky (though still too faint to see with the naked eye); and PKS 2155-304, a BL Lacertae object that is one of the optically brightest blazars in the sky.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Piscis Austrinus” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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