vendredi 5 septembre 2008

Piscis Austrinus 3




Piscis Austrinus
The Southern Fish

The Brighter Stars of Piscis Austrinus
Fomalhaut


Origin of the Constellation

There is little classical mythology associated with the Southern Fish. According to Ridpath, the fish is associated with the Syrian Fertility Goddess Atagartis, who fell into a lake near the Euphrates River and was saved by a large fish.
The Southern Fish is always shown with its mouth open drinking the water pouring from the jar of Aquarius. According to Staal, the fish is often seen as a sign of salvation in the legends of a great deluge. The fish drinks the waters of the flood to save the world.

The Southern Fish is sometimes seen as the parent of the two fish of Pisces.


Fomalhaut
Alpha Piscis Austrini

Distance (Light Years) 25.1 ± 0.2
Visual Magnitude 1.17
Color (B-V) 0.09

Names For This Star

The name "Fomalhaut" derives from an Arabic name for this star:Fum al Hut meaning "The Fish's Mouth."
The alternative Latin names for the star, Os Piscis Meridiani or Os Piscis Notii mean "The Mouth of the Southern Fish."

The name Difda al Auwel or Al Difdi` al Awwal is "The First Frog." The Second Frog is Diphda, Beta Ceti.

Description of the Star

Fomalhaut is a white A3V main sequence star having about 1.7 times the diameter of the sun and about 17 times the luminosity. The spectral type implies an effective temperature of 9100 K and a mass of about 2.6 solar masses.
Fomalhaut is the nearest young star to us, where planets appear to be forming. There are also images of dust discs around Fomalhaut and other stars.

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