page_title: Fomalhaut C
section_title: Discovery and observation
hierarchical_section_title: Fomalhaut C / Discovery and observation
caption_attribution_description: English: This illustration shows the newly discovered planet, Fomalhaut b, orbiting its sun, Fomalhaut. A structure comprised mostly of brown and gold colors surrounds Fomalhaut b. This structure is a Saturn-like ring that astronomers say may encircle the planet. Fomalhaut also is surrounded by a ring of material. The edge of this vast disk is shown in the background as the curving cloud-like feature that appears to intersect the 200-million-year-old star. Fomalhaut b lies 1.8 billion miles inside the disk's inner edge. The planet completes an orbit around Fomalhaut every 872 years. Français&#160;: Cette illustration montre la planète nouvellement découverte, Fomalhaut b, en orbite autour de son soleil, Fomalhaut. Une structure ressemblant à un anneau de Saturne, principalement colorée en marron et or, encercle Fomalhaut b. Fomalhaut est également entouré par un anneau de matière. Le bord de ce vaste disque apparaît en arrière plan, semblable à un nuage circulaire coupant en deux l'étoile vieille de 200 millions d'années. Fomalhaut b se situe à 2.9 milliards de kilomètres miles à l'intérieur bord interne du disque. La planète effectue une orbite autour de Fomalhaut tous les 872 années. Polski: Ilustracja przedstawiająca odkrytą w 2008 roku egzoplanetę Dagon (nazywaną też Fomalhaut b) krążącą wokół gwiazdy Fomalhaut.
context_page_description: Fomalhaut C or its original name, LP 876-10 is the distant third star of the Fomalhaut system. It is about five degrees from Fomalhaut, roughly halfway between it and the Helix Nebula. It is currently 2.5 light years from Fomalhaut A, and 3.2 light years away from Fomalhaut B. The entire system is only around 25 light years from our solar system. It was originally catalogued as a lone red dwarf, until October 2013, when Eric Mamajek announced that the star had a distance, velocity and color-magnitude position consistent with it being part of the Fomalhaut system. It was most likely catalogued with no relation to Fomalhaut due to the fact that it is in the Aquarius constellation, while the rest of the system are in the Piscis Austrinus constellation.
context_section_description: Fomalhaut C was catalogued as a high-proper-motion star by Willum Luyten in 1979, and later, in October 2013, was discovered to be part of the Fomalhaut system, giving it the name Fomalhaut C. The star has a mass of 0.2 solar masses, (0.2 M☉) while Fomalhaut A is 1.9 M☉, and Fomalhaut B is 0.7M☉. The magnitude of this star has been recorded as 12.6. With this third star being so distant, the entire Fomalhaut system may be the widest-spanning star system that has ever been discovered. In the sky, Fomalhaut C would appear very far away from Fomalhaut, which is part of the fact of how close this system is. The distance in the night sky would be 5.5°, or around 11 full moons. Due to its magnitude, you would require a telescope to observe it at home. The entire system of Fomalhaut is around 440 million years old, which is roughly a tenth of the Solar System's age.
caption: Artist's rendition of Fomalhaut b (planet) orbiting in the Fomalhaut A debris disc
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