Pronunciation:

(PY-sis ahs-TRY-nus)

Abbreviation:

PsA

  Genitive:

Piscis Austrini 

Right Ascension:

22 hours

  Declination:

-30 degrees

Area in Square Degrees:

245

Crosses Meridian:

9 PM, October 10

Visible Between Latitudes:

50 and -90 degrees

The constellation Piscis Austrinus, the southern fish, is located in the southern hemisphere of the sky. It is visible at latitudes south of 53 degrees north from July through September. It is a small constellation, occupying only 245 square degrees of the sky. This ranks it 60th in size among the 88 constellations in the night sky. It is bordered by Capricornus to the northwest, Microscopium to the southwest, Grus to the south, Sculptor to the east, Aquarius to the north.

Piscis Austrinus is one of the 48 constellations cataloged in the second century by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy. Its name means “southern fish.” It is sometimes also referred to Piscis Austalis. Until the 20th century it was known as Piscis Notius. In the 16th century, the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius removed some of the stars to form the constellation Grus. Piscis Austrinus has been seen as a constellation since ancient Babylonian times. The Babylonians knew it simply as the Fish. In Greek mythology, it was known as the Great Fish and was portrayed as drinking the water that was being poured out by Aquarius. The two fish in the constellation Pisces were said to be offspring of the Great Fish. In Egyptian mythology, the fish saved the life of the goddess Isis. She showed her gratitude by placing the fish in the heavens as a constellation.

The constellation Piscis Austrinus showing common points of interest
Piscis Austrinus constellation map © Torsten Bronger CC BY-SA 3.0
The constellation Piscis Austrinus showing common points of interest
The constellation Piscis Austrinus showing points of interest below © Sea and Sky
Object
Designation
Name / Meaning
Object Type
V Mag
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Fomalhaut
Epsilon Piscis Austrini
Delta Piscis Austrini
Beta Piscis Austrini
Iota Piscis Austrini
Gamma Piscis Austrini
Mu Piscis Austrini
Tau Piscis Austrini
Upsilon Piscis Austrini
Theta Piscis Austrini
"Mouth of the Fish"
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Blue Subgiant Star
Blue-White Dwarf Star
Multiple Star System
Multiple Star System
Multiple Star System
Multiple Star System
Blue-White Dwarf Star
Yellow-White Dwarf Star
Orange Giant Star
Multiple Star System
1.16
4.18
4.20
4.29
4.35
4.46
4.50
4.94
4.99
5.02

Piscis Austrinus only contains one bright star. Fomalhaut is the brightest star in the constellation and represents the mouth of the fish. It is a blue subgiant star with a visual magnitude of 1.16. It is located approximately 25 light years from Earth. The second brightest star in this constellation is Epsilon Piscis Austrini with a magnitude of only 4.18. It is a blue-white dwarf star that lies 744 light years from our solar system. Delta Piscis Austrini is the third brightest star with a magnitude of 4.20. It is a multiple star system located about 170 light years away.

Piscis Austrinus contains no Messier objects. It does, however, contain a few interesting deep-sky objects. They are extremely dim galaxies that can only be see with a large telescope. The most notable of these are a Seyfert spiral galaxy called 7314, and a trio of elliptical galaxies known as NGC 7173, NGC 7174, and NGC 7176.

Image of seyfert spiral galaxy NGC 7314 in Piscis Austrinus
Seyfert spiral galaxy NGC 7314 in Piscis Austrinus
© solomon from USA / CC BY 2.0
Hubble image of elliptical galaxies NGC 7173, NGC 7174, and NGC 7176
Hubble Space Telescope image of elliptical galaxies
NGC 7173, NGC 7174, and NGC 7176