Peacock: how to find it and when to see it
Peacock ranks 44th of the 74 bright stars on our list, at magnitude 1.94, in the constellation Pavo.
You can see it from anywhere south of 33° N, and it's highest in the evening sky in September.
Peacock at a glance
- Constellation
- Pavo
- Magnitude
- 1.94
- Rank on our list
- 44 of 74
- Hemisphere
- Southern
- Right ascension
- 20 h 26 min
- Declination
- 56.7° south
- Visible from
- south of 33° N
- Never sets
- south of 33° S
- Best evening
- 12 September
- Name from
- Modern
Where Peacock is in the sky
Peacock sits 56.7° south of the celestial equator, the line in the sky directly above Earth's equator, so it's in the southern half of the sky. Its right ascension is 20 h 26 min.
Right ascension works like longitude on the sky. It's counted in hours, and about one hour of it turns past you each hour of the night.
When and where to see Peacock
From the northern hemisphere
From 40° N, the latitude of New York, Madrid and Beijing, Peacock never rises above the horizon. You need to be south of 33° N to see it.
From the southern hemisphere
From 34° S, the latitude of Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires, Peacock never sets: it circles the pole all night and climbs to 67° above the horizon in the south.
It's in the evening sky from May to January, and it's highest in the evening around 12 September, in spring.
How high Peacock climbs from each latitude
The evening is about 9 pm local time, or 10 pm in summer time, and later when the sky is still too bright. A star counts as in the evening sky when it's at least 10° above the horizon.
| Latitude | Visibility | Highest point | Evening sky |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60° N | Never rises | Below the horizon | None |
| 50° N | Never rises | Below the horizon | None |
| 40° N | Never rises | Below the horizon | None |
| 30° N | Rises and sets | 3° in the south | None |
| 20° N | Rises and sets | 13° in the south | Sep |
| Equator | Rises and sets | 33° in the south | Jul to Nov |
| 20° S | Rises and sets | 53° in the south | Jun to Dec |
| 34° S | Never sets | 67° in the south | May to Jan |
| 45° S | Never sets | 78° in the south | All year |
What the name Peacock means
Peacock is a modern name taken from its constellation, Pavo, the Latin word for peacock. It was given in the 1930s for an air navigation almanac.
Keep the sky of a night that matters
Our star maps show the stars above any place, at the minute you choose, with the constellation lines drawn in. If Peacock was above the horizon that night, it's on your map, and we print it on museum-grade paper.
Questions about Peacock
Peacock is in Pavo. It sits 56.7° south of the celestial equator, at a right ascension of 20 h 26 min.
Peacock is highest in the evening sky around 12 September. That's autumn in the northern hemisphere and spring in the southern hemisphere.
Yes, from anywhere south of 33° N. From 40° N, it never rises, so you need to be further south.
Peacock has a magnitude of 1.94, which ranks it 44th of the 74 bright stars on our list. Sirius looks about 22 times brighter.
Peacock is a modern name taken from its constellation, Pavo, the Latin word for peacock. It was given in the 1930s for an air navigation almanac.