Fomalhaut

From All Skies Encyclopaedia

Authors: IAU-WGSN Etymology Group, Susanne M Hoffmann, Youla Azkarrula


Fomalhaut
Asterism Info
Native
فم الحوت
Translation
the Mouth of the Southern Fish
Position (2000)
Right ascension344.4126927
Declination-29.62223703
Area0 sq. deg.
Stars
Bright stars1
Bayer/Flamsteed
stars
1
Stars brighter than 3.00m0
Brightest starFomalhaut (1.16m)
exoplanets1 (Dagon)
Taxonomy
category
of asterism
IAU-Star Name
IAU-
constellations
PsA

Fomalhaut is a modern star name adopted by the International Astronomical Union in the IAU-Catalog of Star Names (IAU-CSN). Its origin is Arabic. It is the name of HIP 113368 (α PsA, HR 8728) in constellation PsA.

Etymology and History

Applied with various spellings since medieval times, from an abbreviation of its sci-A name fam al-ḥūt al-janūbī, "the Mouth of the Southern Fish".

Mythology

IAU Working Group on Star Names

The name was adopted by the IAU WGSN on 2015/12/15.

Reference

  • References (general)
  • Kunitzsch, Paul; Smart, Tim (2006). A Dictionary of Modern star Names: A Short Guide to 254 Star Names and Their Derivations (2nd rev. ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Sky Pub.