Constellations of the southern sky

These constellations lie mostly south of the celestial equator and are best seen from the Southern Hemisphere.

Southern sky star map: all constellations around the South Celestial Pole labeled, including Crux (the Southern Cross), Centaurus, Carina, Scorpius and Orion — Star map from the South Celestial Pole to 20° north

Free to use with credit: Atlas of the Sky (constellationmap.org), CC BY 4.0 · More

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<a href="https://constellationmap.org/southern-constellations/"><img src="https://constellationmap.org/img/constellations/southern-sky-constellation-map.png" alt="Southern sky star map: all constellations around the South Celestial Pole labeled, including Crux (the Southern Cross), Centaurus, Carina, Scorpius and Orion" width="800" height="800" loading="lazy"></a>
<br><small><a href="https://constellationmap.org/southern-constellations/">Constellations of the southern sky</a> · Atlas of the Sky (constellationmap.org), <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY 4.0</a></small>

Constellations of the southern sky

Antliathe Air Pump

Apusthe Bird of Paradise

Aquariusthe Water Bearer

Arathe Altar

Caelumthe Chisel

Canis Majorthe Great Dog

Capricornusthe Sea Goat

Carinathe Keel

Centaurusthe Centaur

Chamaeleonthe Chameleon

Circinusthe Compass

Columbathe Dove

Corona Australisthe Southern Crown

Corvusthe Crow

Craterthe Cup

Cruxthe Southern Cross

Doradothe Dolphinfish

Eridanusthe River

Fornaxthe Furnace

Grusthe Crane

Horologiumthe Pendulum Clock

Hydrathe Water Snake

Hydrusthe Lesser Water Snake

Mensathe Table Mountain

Microscopiumthe Microscope

Muscathe Fly

Normathe Carpenter's Square

Octansthe Octant

Pavothe Peacock

Phoenixthe Phoenix

Pictorthe Painter's Easel

Piscis Austrinusthe Southern Fish

Puppisthe Stern

Pyxisthe Mariner's Compass

Reticulumthe Reticle

Sagittariusthe Archer

Scorpiusthe Scorpion

Sculptorthe Sculptor

Scutumthe Shield

Telescopiumthe Telescope

Triangulum Australethe Southern Triangle

Tucanathe Toucan

Velathe Sails

Volansthe Flying Fish

Overview table

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Constellation	Meaning	Abbr.	Area (sq°)	Size rank	Brightest star	Hemisphere	Best month
Antlia	the Air Pump	Ant	239	62	α Antliae	Southern	April
Apus	the Bird of Paradise	Aps	206	67	α Apodis	Southern	July
Aquarius	the Water Bearer	Aqr	980	10	Sadalsuud	Southern	October
Ara	the Altar	Ara	237	63	β Arae	Southern	July
Caelum	the Chisel	Cae	125	81	α Caeli	Southern	January
Canis Major	the Great Dog	CMa	380	43	Sirius	Southern	February
Capricornus	the Sea Goat	Cap	414	40	Deneb Algedi	Southern	September
Carina	the Keel	Car	494	34	Canopus	Southern	March
Centaurus	the Centaur	Cen	1,060	9	Rigil Kentaurus	Southern	May
Chamaeleon	the Chameleon	Cha	132	78	α Chamaeleontis	Southern	April
Circinus	the Compass	Cir	93	85	α Circini	Southern	June
Columba	the Dove	Col	270	54	Phact	Southern	February
Corona Australis	the Southern Crown	CrA	128	80	β Coronae Australis	Southern	August
Corvus	the Crow	Crv	184	70	Gienah	Southern	May
Crater	the Cup	Crt	282	53	δ Crateris	Southern	April
Crux	the Southern Cross	Cru	68	88	Acrux	Southern	May
Dorado	the Dolphinfish	Dor	179	73	α Doradus	Southern	January
Eridanus	the River	Eri	1,138	6	Achernar	Southern	December
Fornax	the Furnace	For	398	41	Dalim	Southern	December
Grus	the Crane	Gru	366	45	Alnair	Southern	October
Horologium	the Pendulum Clock	Hor	249	58	α Horologii	Southern	December
Hydra	the Water Snake	Hya	1,303	1	Alphard	Southern	April
Hydrus	the Lesser Water Snake	Hyi	243	61	β Hydri	Southern	December
Indus	the Indian	Ind	294	49	α Indi	Southern	September
Lepus	the Hare	Lep	290	51	Arneb	Southern	January
Libra	the Scales	Lib	538	29	Zubeneschamali	Southern	June
Lupus	the Wolf	Lup	334	46	α Lupi	Southern	June
Mensa	the Table Mountain	Men	153	75	α Mensae	Southern	January
Microscopium	the Microscope	Mic	210	66	γ Microscopii	Southern	September
Musca	the Fly	Mus	138	77	α Muscae	Southern	May
Norma	the Carpenter's Square	Nor	165	74	γ2 Normae	Southern	July
Octans	the Octant	Oct	291	50	ν Octantis	Southern	September
Pavo	the Peacock	Pav	378	44	Peacock	Southern	August
Phoenix	the Phoenix	Phe	469	37	Ankaa	Southern	November
Pictor	the Painter's Easel	Pic	247	59	α Pictoris	Southern	January
Piscis Austrinus	the Southern Fish	PsA	245	60	Fomalhaut	Southern	October
Puppis	the Stern	Pup	673	20	Naos	Southern	February
Pyxis	the Mariner's Compass	Pyx	221	65	α Pyxidis	Southern	March
Reticulum	the Reticle	Ret	114	82	α Reticuli	Southern	January
Sagittarius	the Archer	Sgr	867	15	Kaus Australis	Southern	August
Scorpius	the Scorpion	Sco	497	33	Antares	Southern	July
Sculptor	the Sculptor	Scl	475	36	α Sculptoris	Southern	November
Scutum	the Shield	Sct	109	84	α Scuti	Southern	August
Telescopium	the Telescope	Tel	252	57	α Telescopii	Southern	August
Triangulum Australe	the Southern Triangle	TrA	110	83	Atria	Southern	July
Tucana	the Toucan	Tuc	295	48	α Tucanae	Southern	November
Vela	the Sails	Vel	500	32	γ2 Velorum	Southern	March
Volans	the Flying Fish	Vol	141	76	β Volantis	Southern	March

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Constellations of the southern sky

Constellations of the southern sky

Overview table

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