Fomalhaut

noun

astronomy

: a white star of the first magnitude that is the brightest star in the constellation Piscis Austrinus

An orbiting infrared telescope has found a ring of planets being born around Fomalhaut, a much-studied star in the Southern Hemisphere about 22.8 light years from Earth.

—International Wildlife, May/June 1984

called also Alpha Piscis Austrini

Word History

First Known Use

1594, in the meaning defined above

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