Thursday, look south at 9 p.m. to see Fomalhaut nearly 30 degrees above the horizon and nearly directly south. By that time, the moon has almost set, and the sky is dark.
Fomalhaut in evening skies is a sign that fall is underway. Fomalhaut is the 18th brightest star in the sky and the brightest star in Piscis Austrinus, the Southern Fish.
Fomalhaut is readily visible above the sky glow of Tucson from the lower foothills. In light-polluted skies, it is the only bright star seemingly in the middle of nowhere. That is why I call it lonesome Fomalhaut.
Fomalhaut is also a favorite star for amateur astronomers because it has a catchy name (fish’s mouth in Arabic), and it stands as a lonely sentinel in the southern sky.
People are also reading…
Fomalhaut is bigger and brighter than the sun, having a luminosity 16 times and a mass 1.9 times the sun. Fomalhaut is relatively close, being “only” 25 light-years away. It has a large ring of icy dust particles that may be forming planets. One planet has been found in this ring, and there may be others.
There is action in the morning sky. At 5 a.m., Jupiter is 40 degrees above the eastern horizon. Above Jupiter, 12 degrees is Mars. Below Jupiter, 8 degrees is Regulus, the brightest star in Leo the Lion. From top to bottom, Mars, Jupiter and Regulus form a straight line.
