Constellation, Southern Fish
Piscis Austrinus
The Southern Fish, drinking the water that pours from the jar of Aquarius. Its mouth is marked by the bright star Fomalhaut.
From New York on October 13, 2026, the centre of Piscis Austrinus rises at 6:01 PM, is highest at 9:55 PM (17° above the horizon in the S) and sets at 1:49 AM.
In the 3D sky
The sky over New York turned towards Piscis Austrinus. 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
Eratosthenes called this the Great Fish and said it was the parent of the two fish of Pisces. Like Pisces, its story has a Middle Eastern setting that points to a Babylonian origin. In the brief Greek account, the Syrian goddess Derceto fell into a lake near the Euphrates and a large fish saved her. Hyginus added that the Syrians therefore did not eat fish and worshipped images of fish as gods. Other ancient writers say that temples of this goddess kept ponds of sacred fish. The myths of this figure are thin, as Ian Ridpath notes.
Ptolemy listed it as Ichthys Notios, the southern fish, the final constellation of his catalogue. Later names included Piscis Notius and Piscis Australis, but Edmond Halley’s choice, Piscis Austrinus, won out. In the sky the fish drinks the stream that flows from the jar of Aquarius. The stream ends at Fomalhaut, from the Arabic for ‘the fish’s mouth’. Bedouin Arabs saw Fomalhaut and Achernar as a pair of ostriches.
Brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fomalhaut | α PsA | 1.17 | 25 light-years |
| ε PsA | ε PsA | 4.18 | 487 light-years |
| δ PsA | δ PsA | 4.20 | 154 light-years |
| β PsA | β PsA | 4.29 | 143 light-years |
| ι PsA | ι PsA | 4.35 | 204 light-years |
| γ PsA | γ PsA | 4.46 | 215 light-years |
| μ PsA | μ PsA | 4.50 | 136 light-years |
| τ PsA | τ PsA | 4.94 | 60 light-years |
| υ PsA | υ PsA | 4.99 | 424 light-years |
Facts
| Area | about 244 square degrees (61 of 88) |
|---|---|
| IAU abbreviation | PsA |
| Sky | Southern sky |
| Origin | The last of the 48 constellations in Ptolemy’s Almagest, about AD 150, as Ichthys Notios |
| Stars brighter than magnitude 5 | 9 |
| Centre (J2000) | 22.5 h, -32° |
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.