Fomalhaut

Its story

Fomalhaut — «the mouth of the fish» in medieval Arabic — burns alone in a sparse patch of the southern sky, earning it the old nickname «the solitary star of autumn». At 25 light-years it is a close neighbour, a young white A-type ringed by a vast dust disc where astronomers hunt for worlds still taking shape. Its light, a recent traveller in cosmic terms, set out barely a quarter of a century ago.