Piscis Austrinus is a small group of stars north of Grus and south of Aquarius. This constellation is inconspicuous, except for its brightest star Fomalhaut. It is best seen from September through November.
History and Mythology
This constellation was the symbol of the Syrian god Dagon, but in Greek mythology it was a fish. The constellation is sometimes seen as two fish, but a single fish is more common. The fish is drinking from a stream of water that is poured from the jar held by Aquarius.
Notable Objects
Fomalhaut is the brightest star in Pisces, and it marks the mouth of the fish. It is a blue-white star of magnitude 1.2, and is the 18th brightest star in the sky. It is a nearby star, only 22 light-years away, and is 11 times brighter than our Sun. Fomalhaut, along with Vega, was one of the first stars discovered to have a proto-planetary dust disk in orbit around it. In 2008, Fomalhaut became the first star with an extrasolar planet photographed, by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Beta Piscis Austrini is a wide double star with components of magnitude 4.3 and 7.8.
There are no prominent nebulae in the constellation. NGC 7314 is a 12th magnitude spiral galaxy. It is difficult to see except in larger telescopes. Even fainter are the galaxies NGC 7172 and NGC 7173.