Fornax

Mythology

This constellation is supposed to represent a chemical furnace. The Chinese call it Tien Yu, Heaven's temporary Granary.

For the Observer

Autumn and Winter Skies

Alpha Fornax (03h09m.9 -29°12') has a magnitude of 3.86 and is a class F8 star. It is about 40 light years distant. The star is a binary with a faint companion that has a magnitude of about 7.

Fornax Galaxy Cluster is a group of 18 galaxies and some additions faint ones near 3h35m -35°40' Under very low power in a small telescope it is possible to get 9 galaxies in one view. The brightest of the galaxies is 10th magnitude.