dipper@utastro.UUCP (Debbie Byrd) (09/09/85)
The loneliest star is back in the evening sky. We'll tell you why this star is said to be lonely -- after this. September 9 The Loneliest Star In some places it still feels like summer -- down here in Texas, for instance. But the skies are beginning to look like autumn. One well-known autumn star is Fomalhaut, the loneliest star in the southern sky. Fomalhaut is called "the lonely one" or "the solitary one" because -- it's the only even-fairly-bright star in its large dark patch of sky. Fomalhaut is located about 24 light-years from Earth. Besides being solitary, it's notable for having a large proper motion through our sky. In other words, the star moves sideways across our line of sight at an unusually fast rate. Most stars don't -- that's one reason we sometimes refer to them as "the fixed stars." Even so, you'd waste your time trying to see the sideways motion of Fomalhaut. At its great distance from us, its proper motion isn't evident to the naked eye. Fomalhaut has three dim companions, and these four stars mark the corners of a lopsided square. The square is supposed to represent the open mouth of a fish, and the constellation that contains Fomalhaut is named Piscis Austrinis, or the Southern Fish. As is often the case, the rest of the constellation looks nothing like a fish! If you look for Fomalhaut, you'll probably agree. You'll find this star easy to pick out because it's bright and solitary. It's now peeking up in the southeast in mid-evening, and it travels in an arc across the southern sky throughout the night. As autumn draws near, Fomalhaut will be rising even earlier. Script by Deborah Byrd. (c) Copyright 1984, 1985 McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin