Constellation, Furnace
Fornax
The furnace, a chemist’s furnace for distilling, created by Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille in the 1750s. It holds the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, one of the deepest views ever taken of the universe.
From New York on October 13, 2026, the centre of Fornax rises at 10:16 PM, is highest at 2:18 AM (19° above the horizon in the S) and sets at 6:20 AM.
In the 3D sky
The sky over New York turned towards Fornax. Drag to look around.
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Evening visibility over the year
Height of the constellation’s centre above the horizon at 10 pm local time on the 15th of each month, from New York. Above about 30° it is well placed.
Name and history
Fornax has no myth. Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille formed it from faint stars tucked into a bend of the river Eridanus, after observing the southern sky from the Cape of Good Hope. On his chart of 1756 he called it le Fourneau, the furnace, and drew a simple chemist’s furnace with an alembic and a receiver for distillation. On his chart of 1763 the Latin name was Fornax Chimiae. It is sometimes said to honour the chemist Antoine Lavoisier, but he was only 13 when the first chart appeared. The link to Lavoisier came from Johann Bode, who redrew it in 1801 after one of Lavoisier’s experiments.
In 1845 Francis Baily shortened the name to Fornax, following a suggestion by John Herschel. This dim patch of sky is now famous for what lies far beyond its stars. The Hubble Space Telescope stared at a tiny, nearly empty area here to make the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, which shows thousands of distant galaxies.
Sources: Ian Ridpath, Star Tales: Fornax, ESA/Hubble: Hubble Ultra Deep Field (heic0406a)
Brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dalim | α For | 3.80 | 46 light-years |
| β For | β For | 4.45 | 173 light-years |
| ν For | ν For | 4.68 | 371 light-years |
| ω For | ω For | 4.96 | 484 light-years |
| δ For | δ For | 4.99 | 847 light-years |
Facts
| Area | about 396 square degrees (41 of 88) |
|---|---|
| IAU abbreviation | For |
| Sky | Southern sky |
| Origin | First shown on Lacaille’s planisphere of the southern sky, from his 1751–52 observations at the Cape of Good Hope |
| Stars brighter than magnitude 5 | 5 |
| Centre (J2000) | 2.9 h, -30° |
Deep-sky objects
Galaxies, clusters and nebulae brighter than magnitude 9, from the OpenNGC catalogue. Most need binoculars or a telescope and a dark sky.
| Object | Type | Magnitude |
|---|---|---|
| NGC1316 · Fornax A | Galaxy | 8.5 |
Boundaries: International Astronomical Union, via Astronomy Engine. Areas are computed from the boundaries by sampling (within about one percent). Names and lines: Stellarium. Stars: HYG Database. Deep-sky objects: OpenNGC. Calculated with Astronomy Engine, an open-source library verified against the US Naval Observatory and NASA JPL. Data sources
How to use this page
Choose your place and a night at the top. The answer and the 3D view show where the constellation is, when it is highest and whether it rises at all from where you are. The chart shows its stars and lines, and the tables list its brightest stars and the deep-sky objects inside it.
Frequently asked questions
When is a constellation best seen?
When it is highest in a dark sky, which the page gives for the night you pick. Each constellation is best placed in a particular season, because the stars rise about four minutes earlier every night.
Why can I not see a constellation from my place?
Constellations far south of the celestial equator never rise from northern places, and those far north never rise from southern ones. The page says when this is the case.
What are the constellation boundaries?
The International Astronomical Union divides the sky into 88 areas with official boundaries. The stick figures are only a drawing aid, the boundaries say which constellation a point in the sky belongs to.
Related guides
- How to learn the constellationsStart with one bright pattern you cannot miss, use it as a signpost to its neighbours, and come back a month later: the sky will have turned, and you will know a little more of it.
- Altitude and azimuth: finding things in the skyTwo angles tell you exactly where to look: which direction, and how high.
- Light pollution and dark skies: the Bortle scaleFrom a city centre you can count a few dozen stars. From a truly dark site you can count a few thousand, with the Milky Way bright enough to cast a shadow. The Bortle scale puts a number on the difference.
- Binoculars for stargazing: what to buy and what to look atA pair of 7x50 or 10x50 binoculars shows the craters of the Moon, the moons of Jupiter, dozens of star clusters and the Andromeda Galaxy, for a fraction of the cost of a telescope.