Star
Fomalhaut
White star · A3V
α Piscis Austrini · Piscis Austrinus
Shown in its true colour — like most stars, it is too far away to photograph as more than a point of light.
Fomalhaut is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Piscis Austrinus, the Southern Fish, and one of the brightest stars in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation Alpha Piscis Austrini, which is an alternative form of α Piscis Austrini, and is abbreviated Alpha PsA or α PsA. This is a class A star on the main sequence approximately 25 light-years (7.7 pc) from the Sun as measured by the Hipparcos astrometry satellite. Since 1943, the spectrum of this star has served as one of the stable anchor points by which other stars are classified.
Description from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
In your sky
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Key facts
Distance
~25.1 light-years
Apparent mag.
+1.17
Spectral type
A3V
Luminosity
17.6 × Sun
Absolute mag.
+1.74
Catalogue
HIP 113368
Spectral type
A3V
True colour from its B–V index (0.14): a surface around 8700 K.
Did you know
- Fomalhaut is also known as α Piscis Austrini.
- Its spectral type A3V marks it as a white star.
- It lies in the constellation Piscis Austrinus.
