The brightest star in the southern sky

For all the expanse of the heavens and the seemingly random groupings of stars into constellations, it is strange that one bright star shines alone in the far southern sky on fall evenings.

That star is Fomalhaut (pronounced FOH-mah-low), the brightest star in the constellation Piscis Australes, the Southern Fish and the 18th brightest star in the sky. It is often called the "Autumn Star." In Arabic the name means "Mouth of the Southern Fish." The remaining stars of the constellation are hardly visible.

It is one of the so-called water constellations sharing the autumn sky with Capricornus, the Sea Goat, and Aquarius, the Water Bearer. It is also near Cetus, the Sea Monster and Pisces, the zodiacal fish -- all ranking among the dimmest, most indistinct constellations in the sky. Fomalhaut spices up this part of the heavens with a glint of splendor.

In ancient Persia, Fomalhaut was recognized as one of the four "royal stars" (along with Regulus, Aldebaran and Antares) used in religious rituals. Ancient Greek astronomers also recognized and recorded observations of Fomalhaut.

The star is about 25 light years away, about the same distance as the bright star Vega, and 16 times brighter and about 1.7 times larger than our Sun. Satellite observation and images from the Hubble Space Telescope show a ring of dust around the star giving evidence of forming solar system.

J.R.R. Tolkien fans had quite a stir when published photographs of the dust disk bore a striking resemblance to the "Eye of Sauron" from the Lord of the Rings movies by Peter Jackson.

They were disappointed to learn the image was only an artifact from the photographic process and was not what the ring really looked like.

You can find Fomalhaut about 20 degrees (two fists width held at arms length) above the southern horizon at about 8:00 p.m. local time. It will be the brightest, and only, star in the area thus its designation as the loneliest star in the sky. You don't even have to be at a dark sky place.

You can see Fomalhaut even from moderately light polluted cities -- if not blocked by trees or buildings.

SKY WATCH: New Moon on Monday, Nov. 20. The Leonid meteor shower will peak on Sunday, Nov. 19, after 1 a.m. when the constellation Leo, the Lion, comes over the horizon. The Leonids are leftover pieces from the 1932 passing of comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. Expect about 20 meteors an hour. In case you would like to know, Leo is a spring constellation.

Next time, winter is peeking over the horizon.