Phoenix

constellation · southern sky · mythology

Named After Myth. The constellation is named after the legendary phoenix from ancient stories, the magical bird that could be reborn from its own ashes. Astronomers chose this name because they wanted to honor the famous creature from mythology.

Mapped by Bayer. A German astronomer named Johann Bayer first drew Phoenix on a star map in 1603. He included it in his famous book called Uranometria, which showed all the constellations visible from Earth.

Located Down South. Phoenix sits in the southern sky and can only be seen from places south of the equator. It stretches across a large area of the night sky and is considered a minor constellation, meaning it's smaller than some others.

Part of Bird Group. Phoenix belongs to a special group of four constellations called the Southern Birds, along with Grus, Pavo, and Tucana. All four of these constellations are located near each other in the southern sky.

Charted by Lacaille. A French explorer and astronomer named Nicolas Louis de Lacaille mapped the brightest stars in Phoenix in 1756. He gave them special names called Bayer designations so astronomers could find them easily.