Proper Names Fomalhaut, Os Piscis Meridionalis, Difda al Auwel Bayer Designation Alpha Piscis Austrini Flamsteed Numbers 24 Piscis Austrini , 79 Aquarii HR (BSC )8728 (A) HD 216956 (A) Variable DesignationTW Piscis Austrini (B) Other Designations Gliese 881 (A)Gliese 879 (B)Constellation Piscis Austrinus Right Ascension 22h 57m 39s (A) Declination -29° 37' 20" (A) Distance 25 light years parsecs Magnitude Apparent: +1.23 (A), +6.48 (B), +12.62 (C)Absolute: +1.80 (A), +7.08 (B), +13.20 (C)Spectral Class A 3V white main sequence star (A)K 4V e orange dwarf (B)M 4V e red dwarf (C)Planets in this systemDagon (Fomalhaut b), nature and status uncertainOptimum Visibility September Notes This young dwarf star is less than twice the diameter of the Sun . It possesses an array of circumstellar discs , and at least two other stellar companions, placing it at the heart of the ternary system.
Imagery provided by Aladin sky atlas
The small southern constellation of Piscis Austrinus is faint and unremarkable but for one star - Fomalhaut. Just twenty-five light years away from Earth's Solar System , Fomalhaut is the tenth brightest star in the southern sky, with a strong magnitude of +1.2. Surrounding the star are several rings of debris, and within these rings orbits an object that appears to be a planet . Known as Dagon or Fomalhaut b , this planet , or planet -like object, is notable as one of very few such objects to have been directly captured in an image.
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