Abbreviation: Â Ara
English Name: Â The Altar
Genitive: Arae
Hemisphere:Â Southern Hemisphere (Never visible from the UK.)
Location:Â Between the constellations of Telescopium and Norma.
Visible between latitudes: Â +25 and -90 degrees
Best season: Summer
Seen in three season: Spring, Summer and Autumn
Best seen in:Â July
Seen between:Â March to December
Right Ascension (RA):Â 17 hour
Declination (DEC):Â -55 degrees
Area (square degrees): Â 237Â (63rd)
Ara (The Altar)
- The southern constellation of Ara between Scorpius and Triangulum Australe, lies in the Milky Way.
- Ara was one of the 48 Greek constellations described by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
Messier Objects
- No Messier objects in Ara.
Other objects in Antlia
- 16x objects:  New General Catalogue (NGC)
- 6x objects:  Index Catalogue (IC)
- 9x objects:  Collinder Catalog (Cr)
Features of Interest
- NGC6193 – An Open Cluster, consisting of a handful of stars scattered over an area half the size of the Full Moon; best seen in binoculars.
- NGC6397 – A large Globular Cluster, about two-thirds the size of the Full Moon; it  is just visible to the naked-eye and easy to find with binoculars.
Brightest Objects inÂ
Others
- Photo of the constellation – Ara, as it appears to the naked-eye (Lines have been added for clarity.)
- Sky Chart  –  Ara
- List of stars in Ara.
Back to The 88 Constellations Lists page.