Fomalhaut (α PsA) famelhut (#), mâhidahân Fr.: Fomalhaut The brightest star (V = 1.17) in the constellation → Piscis Austrinus. Fomalhaut is a white A3 main-sequence star about 25 light-years away. It is encircled by a dust belt (→ debris disk) of about 25 A.U. wide at a radial distance of about 140 A.U. From Ar. Fam al-Hut ( Famelhut, from Ar. as above; Mâhidahân, from mâhi "fish," from Mid.Pers. mâhik; Av. masya-; cf. Skt. matsya-, Pali maccha- + dahân "mouth;" Mid.Pers. dahân, from Av. zafan-, zafar- "mouth (of Ahrimanic beings)." |