Atria: how to find it and when to see it
Atria ranks 41st of the 74 bright stars on our list, at magnitude 1.91, in the constellation Triangulum Australe.
You can see it from anywhere south of 21° N, and it's highest in the evening sky in July.
Atria at a glance
- Constellation
- Triangulum Australe
- Magnitude
- 1.91
- Rank on our list
- 41 of 74
- Hemisphere
- Southern
- Right ascension
- 16 h 49 min
- Declination
- 69.0° south
- Visible from
- south of 21° N
- Never sets
- south of 21° S
- Best evening
- 19 July
- Name from
- Modern
Where Atria is in the sky
Atria sits 69.0° 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 16 h 49 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 Atria
From the northern hemisphere
From 40° N, the latitude of New York, Madrid and Beijing, Atria never rises above the horizon. You need to be south of 21° N to see it.
From the southern hemisphere
From 34° S, the latitude of Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires, Atria never sets: it circles the pole all night and climbs to 55° above the horizon in the south.
It's in the evening sky all year, and it's highest in the evening around 19 July, in winter.
How high Atria 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 | Never rises | Below the horizon | None |
| 20° N | Rises and sets | 1° in the south | None |
| Equator | Rises and sets | 21° in the south | Jun to Sept |
| 20° S | Rises and sets | 41° in the south | Apr to Oct |
| 34° S | Never sets | 55° in the south | All year |
| 45° S | Never sets | 66° in the south | All year |
What the name Atria means
Atria is a short form of Alpha Trianguli Australis, its catalogue name as the brightest star of the Southern Triangle.
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 Atria was above the horizon that night, it's on your map, and we print it on museum-grade paper.
Questions about Atria
Atria is in Triangulum Australe. It sits 69.0° south of the celestial equator, at a right ascension of 16 h 49 min.
Atria is highest in the evening sky around 19 July. That's summer in the northern hemisphere and winter in the southern hemisphere.
Yes, from anywhere south of 21° N. From 40° N, it never rises, so you need to be further south.
Atria has a magnitude of 1.91, which ranks it 41st of the 74 bright stars on our list. Sirius looks about 22 times brighter.
Atria is a short form of Alpha Trianguli Australis, its catalogue name as the brightest star of the Southern Triangle.