Constellation
Phoenix
The mythical bird reborn from its own ashes, placed in the southern sky by Dutch navigators near the end of the river Eridanus.
From New York on October 13, 2026, the centre of Phoenix rises at 10:42 PM, is highest at 12:16 AM (2° above the horizon in the S) and sets at 1:50 AM.
In the 3D sky
The sky over New York turned towards Phoenix. 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
Phoenix is one of the twelve southern figures from the observations of the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman. Petrus Plancius first drew it on a globe in 1598, and it first appeared in print in Johann Bayer’s atlas of 1603. Ovid wrote that it lived for 500 years. At the end of its life it built a nest of cinnamon and incense on top of a palm tree and died there. A young phoenix then rose from its father’s body. Its death and rebirth have been read as a symbol of the Sun setting and rising.
All the other Dutch figures except the southern triangle are real animals. Ian Ridpath suggests the bird of paradise explains the choice. When the first dead specimens reached Europe in the 16th century, some people wondered if they were the phoenix. The French naturalist Pierre Belon even gave the phoenix an entry in his bird book of 1555.
Sources: Ian Ridpath, Star Tales: Phoenix
Brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ankaa | α Phe | 2.40 | 85 light-years |
| β Phe | β Phe | 3.32 | 185 light-years |
| γ Phe | γ Phe | 3.41 | 234 light-years |
| ε Phe | ε Phe | 3.88 | 144 light-years |
| κ Phe | κ Phe | 3.93 | 78 light-years |
| δ Phe | δ Phe | 3.93 | 142 light-years |
| Wurren | ζ Phe | 3.94 | 299 light-years |
| η Phe | η Phe | 4.36 | 246 light-years |
| ψ Phe | ψ Phe | 4.39 | 342 light-years |
| μ Phe | μ Phe | 4.59 | 246 light-years |
Facts
| Area | about 471 square degrees (37 of 88) |
|---|---|
| IAU abbreviation | Phe |
| Sky | Southern sky |
| Origin | First shown on a celestial globe by Petrus Plancius in 1598, from observations by Keyser and de Houtman |
| Stars brighter than magnitude 5 | 15 |
| Centre (J2000) | 0.8 h, -48° |
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.
No deep-sky object brighter than magnitude 9.
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.