Triangulum Australe - Characteristics

Characteristics

Triangulum Australe is a small constellation bordered by Norma to the north, Circinus to the west, Apus to the south and Ara to the east. It lies near the Pointers (Alpha and Beta Centauri), with only Circinus in between. The constellation is located within the Milky Way, and hence has many stars. A roughly equilateral triangle, it is easily identifiable. Triangulum Australe lies too far south in the celestial southern hemisphere to be visible from Europe, yet is circumpolar from most of the southern hemisphere. The three-letter abbreviation for the constellation, as adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1922, is "TrA". The official constellation boundaries, as set by Eugène Delporte in 1930, are defined by a polygon of 18 segments. In the equatorial coordinate system, the right ascension coordinates of these borders lie between 14h 56.4m and 17h 13.5m, while the declination coordinates are between −60.26° and −70.51°. Triangulum Australe culminates each year at 9 p.m. on 23 August.