Triangulum Australe, the Southern Triangle, is a small bright triangle near Alpha Centauri, led by the orange giant Atria, set at the edge of the Milky Way.
At a glance
| stars in the figure | 4 |
|---|---|
| nearest star of the figure | Beta Trianguli Australis, 40.4 light-years (12.4 pc) |
| farthest star of the figure | Atria, 391 light-years (120 pc) |
| depth | the farthest is 9.7 × farther than the nearest |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Triangulum Australe
Triangulum Australe is one of the southern figures drawn up from the observations of the Dutch navigators Pieter Keyser and Frederick de Houtman and published by Petrus Plancius. Unlike its faint northern namesake, it is easy to see: three fairly bright stars making a clean triangle, close to Alpha Centauri and the Southern Pointers.
Its brightest star, Atria, is an orange giant, a cooler star that has swollen late in its life. Beta Trianguli Australis, the nearest star of the figure, is a white star. The triangle lies on the edge of the southern Milky Way, between Norma, Ara and Apus.
Triangulum Australe lies far enough south to stay above the horizon all night from much of the southern hemisphere, highest on winter evenings there. From most northern latitudes it is never seen.
What you see in the piece
Leave the HUMAN EYE view (E) with CONSTELLATIONS (N) on and the triangle falls open: Atria lies many times deeper than the nearest of the figure, and the three corners no longer belong together.
Questions
What is the brightest star in Triangulum Australe?
The brightest star is Atria, an orange giant.
How far away are the stars of Triangulum Australe?
The nearest star of the figure is Beta Trianguli Australis, 40.4 light-years (12.4 pc); the farthest is Atria, 391 light-years (120 pc). The farthest is 9.7 × farther than the nearest.