Ara the Altar lies in a dense part of the Milky Way immediately south of the hook of stars that make up the tail of Scorpius the Scorpion. It is invisible from Britain but has been known since ancient times, remember that many of these constellations were created in Greece which is much further south than we are in Britain meaning that constellations like Ara will be seen much higher in the sky.

Although a relatively minor group with no named stars in Greek mythology, Ara represented 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. According to legends, it is believed the Cyclops originally built the altar as a place to sacrifice to the Olympian gods. It was also upon this altar that Centaurus the centaur sacrificed Lupus the wolf. Ara has a fairly distinctive shape, its brightest stars are:-