Ara is a southern constellation situated between Scorpius and Triangulum Australe. Its name is Latin for "altar". 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.

Ara constellation is located in the southern sky. Its name means “the altar” in Latin.

It represents the altar used by Zeus and other Greek gods to swear a vow of allegiance before they went to war against Cronus and the Titans.

In another Greek myth, Ara represents the altar of King Lycaon of Arcadia.

Ara was one of the 88 constellations catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.

It contains several notable deep sky objects: the Stingray Nebula, the open cluster NGC 6193 and the globular cluster NGC 6397.

 

Ara constellation,star chart,star map
Ara Constellation Map, by IAU and Sky&Telescope magazine
Ara is among the smaller constellations (63rd in size), occupying an area of 237 square degrees.

The constellation Ara has seven stars with known planets and no Messier objects.

The brightest star in the constellation is Beta Arae.

There are no meteor showers linked to this constellation.

Ara belongs to the Hercules family of constellations, together with Aquila, Centaurus, Corona Australis, Corvus, Crater, Crux, Cygnus, Hercules, Hydra, Lupus, Lyra, Ophiuchus, Sagitta, Scutum, Serpens, Sextans, Triangulum Australe, and Vulpecula.