Triangulum Australe constellation lies in the southern sky. Its name means “the southern triangle” in Latin.
The three brightest stars in the constellation form an equilateral triangle. Triangulum Australe was created by the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius in the late 16th century and the first depiction of the constellation appeared in 1603, in Johann Bayer’s Uranometria.
The constellation is located too far south to be visible from Europe and most of the northern hemisphere, but it never sets below the horizon south of the equator.
FACTS, LOCATION & MAP
Triangulum Australe is the 83rd constellation in size, occupying an area of 110 square degrees. It is located in the third quadrant of the southern hemisphere (SQ3) and can be seen at latitudes between +25° and -90°. The neighboring constellations are Apus, Ara, Circinus and Norma.
Triangulum Australe belongs to the Hercules family of constellations, along with Aquila, Ara, Centaurus, Corona Australis, Corvus, Crater, Crux, Cygnus, Hercules, Hydra, Lupus, Lyra, Ophiuchus, Sagitta, Scutum, Sextans, Serpens and Vulpecula.
Triangulum Australe has one star with a confirmed planet and contains no Messier objects. The brightest star in the constellation is Atria, Alpha Trianguli Australis, with an apparent magnitude of 1.91. There are no meteor showers associated with the constellation.
STORY
Triangulum Australe is not associated with any myths. It is the smallest of the 12 constellations created by the Dutch navigators Frederick de Houtman and Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser in the late 16th century.
The first depiction of the constellation appeared in 1589 on a celestial globe by the Flemish cartographer and astronomer Petrus Plancius, where it was called Triangulus Antarcticus and incorrectly placed to the south of the constellation Argo Navis, which has since been split into three smaller constellations. Johann Bayer gave the constellation the name Triangulum Australe in his Uranometria in 1603.
Nicolas Louis de Lacaille called the constellation “le Triangle Austral ou le Niveau” on his planisphere in 1756 and described it as a surveyor’s level (“niveau”). It was one of the several constellations that represented surveying instruments. The other two were Circinus, the compass, and Norma, the set square.
Johann Bode gave the constellation the alternative name, Libella (the level), in his Uranographia in 1801.
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