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on these moonlit autumn evenings. You would need a very dark sky, and you'd need to sweep your gaze from southeast to southwest, a couple of hours after sunset, to see the faint stars all around Fomalhaut. This part of the sky - and these faint stars in Fomalhaut's vicinity - are what the ancient stargazers regarded as an ocean in the autumn sky. Many of the constellations in this part of the sky are connected with water - perhaps because the sun was moving in front of these stars on the great pathway of the ecliptic during a rainy season long ago.
• The moon will drop out of the evening sky in early December. In a dark sky, you can see Cetus the Whale, Pisces the Fish, Aquarius the Water Carrier, Capricornus the Sea Goat and Delphinus the Dolphin - all in Fomalhaut's vicinity. Fomalhaut itself is located in the constellation Pisces Austrinus, the Southern Fish - another swimmer in the celestial ocean.
• Fomalhaut is sometimes called The Lonely One or The Solitary One. It's said to be lonely because it's noticeable as the only bright object in an otherwise empty region of the sky. You'll easily find Fomalhaut tonight, because it's the closet bright star to the moon. This is a blue-white star, located only a couple of dozen light-years away. It's one of the easiest stars to find any autumn, because it's so bright and so solitary.
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