Fomalhaut
Where is Fomalhaut?
Low in the south, at most 9° up around 22:57 in Piscis Austrinus.
- Rises
- 19:57
- Highest
- 23:01
- Sets
- 02:05
- Best after dark
- 22:57 · 9°
Can I see Fomalhaut tonight?
From London tonight, Fomalhaut stays low while the sky is dark: at best 9° above the south horizon around 22:57. You’ll need a clear, flat view in that direction.
At magnitude 1.2 it is one of the brighter points in the sky, easy to see by eye when it’s clear.
This is position and timing only: clouds, haze and light pollution aren’t included.
What does Fomalhaut look like?
Fomalhaut looks white to the eye. Its spectral type is A4V: white main-sequence star (hotter than the Sun).
Eyes
A bright white star low in the south, alone in a dim region.
Binoculars
A bright white point with few bright neighbors.
Telescope
A point of light. Its debris disk needs space telescopes.
About Fomalhaut
Fomalhaut is the brightest star in Piscis Austrinus, the Southern Fish, and often called the loneliest star, because it shines in a large area of sky with no other bright stars.
It is a white star about 25 light-years away, surrounded by a wide ring of dust and icy debris. Images from space telescopes show this ring in detail.
From mid-northern latitudes, Fomalhaut stays low in the south on autumn evenings.
Fomalhaut is about twice the mass of the Sun, roughly 16 times as luminous and only a few hundred million years old. Its name comes from the Arabic for “mouth of the fish”.
The James Webb Space Telescope has imaged several belts of dust around it, extending well beyond the distance of our Kuiper Belt from the Sun.
Fomalhaut is part of a widely spread triple system: two much fainter stars, an orange dwarf and a red dwarf, share its motion through space at great distances.
Fomalhaut in Piscis Austrinus
Questions
Why is Fomalhaut called the loneliest star?
Does Fomalhaut have a planet?
Sources: SkyMate; Wikidata (CC0). Positions computed for your place and time with astronomy-engine. Data & Licences