Pisces (constellation)
01h 00m 00s, +15° 00′ 00″| Constellation | |
14th) | |
| Main stars | 18 |
|---|---|
| Bayer/Flamsteed stars | 86 |
| Stars with planets | 13 |
| Stars brighter than 3.00m | 0 |
| Stars within 10.00 pc (32.62 ly) | 8 |
| Brightest star | η Psc (Alpherg) (3.62m) |
| Messier objects | 1 |
| Meteor showers | Piscids |
| Bordering constellations | |
| Visible at latitudes between +90° and −65°. Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of November. | |
Pisces is a constellation of the
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(♓︎). Its name is Latin for "fishes". It is between Aquarius, of similar size, to the southwest and Aries, which is smaller, to the east. The ecliptic and the celestial equator intersect within this constellation and in Virgo. This means the sun passes directly overhead of the equator, on average, at approximately this point in the sky, at the March equinoxFeatures
The March equinox is currently located in Pisces, due south of Psc, and, due to precession, slowly drifting due west, just below the western fish towards Aquarius.
Stars
Although Pisces is a large constellation, there are only two stars brighter than magnitude 4 in Pisces. It is also the second dimmest of the zodiac constellations.
- Alrescha ("the cord"), otherwise Alpha Piscium (α Psc), 309.8 lightyears, class A2, magnitude 3.62. Variable binary star.[1]
- Fumalsamakah[2] ("mouth of the fish"), otherwise Beta Piscium (β Psc), 492 lightyears, class B6Ve, magnitude 4.48
- Delta Piscium (δ Psc), 305 lightyears, class K5III, magnitude 4.44. Like other stars near the ecliptic, Delta Piscium is subject to lunar occultations.[3]
- Epsilon Piscium (ε Psc), 190 lightyears, class K0III, magnitude 4.27. Has a candidate exoplanet.[4]
- Revati[2] ("rich"), otherwise Zeta Piscium (ζ Psc), 148 lightyears, class A7IV, magnitude 5.21. Quintuple star system.[5]
- Alpherg ("emptying"),[2] otherwise Eta Piscium (η Psc), 349 lightyears, class G7 IIIa, magnitude 3.62. It is a Gamma Cassiopeiae variable[6] with a weak magnetic field.[7]
- Torcular ("thread"),[2] otherwise Omicron Piscium (ο Psc), 258 lightyears, class K0III, magnitude 4.2. It is an evolved red giant star on the horizontal branch.[8]
- Gamma Piscium (γ Psc), 138 lightyears, magnitude 3.70. The star hosts an exoplanet which was discovered in 2021.[4] It has a spectral type of G8 III.[11]
Due to the dimness of these stars, the constellation is essentially invisible in or near any major city due to light pollution.
Deep-sky objects
NGC 488 is an isolated face-on prototypical spiral galaxy.[23] Two supernovae have been observed in the galaxy.[24]
NGC 520 is a pair of colliding galaxies located 105 million light-years away.[25]
History and mythology
Pisces originates from some composition of the
Greco-Roman period
Pisces is associated with the Greek legend that Aphrodite and her son Eros either shape-shifted into forms of fishes to escape, or were rescued by two fishes.
In the Greek version according to
There is also a different origin tale that Hyginus preserved in another work. According to this, an egg rolled into the Euphrates, and some fishes nudged this to shore, after which the doves sat on the egg until Aphrodite (thereafter called the
Modern period
In 1690, the astronomer Johannes Hevelius in his Firmamentum Sobiescianum regarded the constellation Pisces as being composed of four subdivisions:[33]
- Piscis Boreus (the North Fish): σ – 68 – 65 – 67 – ψ1 – ψ2 – ψ3 – χ – φ – υ – 91 – τ – 82 – 78 Psc.
- Linum Boreum (the North Cord):[33] χ – ρ,94 – VX(97) – η – π – ο – α Psc.
- Linum Austrinum (the South Cord):[33] α – ξ – ν – μ – ζ – ε – δ – 41 – 35 – ω Psc.
- Piscis Austrinus (the South Fish):[33] ω – ι – θ – 7 – β – 5 – κ,9 – λ – TX(19) Psc.
"Piscis Austrinus" more often refers to a separate constellation in its own right.
In 1754, the botanist and author
Western folklore
The Fishes are in the German lore of Antenteh, who owned just a tub and a crude cabin when he met two magical fish. They offered him a wish, which he refused. However, his wife begged him to return to the fish and ask for a beautifully furnished home. This wish was granted, but her desires were not satisfied. She then asked to be a queen and have a palace, but when she asked to become a goddess, the fish became angry and took the palace and home, leaving the couple with the tub and cabin once again. The tub is sometimes recognized as the
In non-Western astronomy
The stars of Pisces were incorporated into several constellations in Chinese astronomy. Wai-ping ("Outer Enclosure") was a fence that kept a pig farmer from falling into the marshes and kept the pigs where they belonged. It was represented by Alpha, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Mu, Nu, and Xi Piscium. The marshes were represented by the four stars designated Phi Ceti. The northern fish of Pisces was a part of the House of the Sandal, Koui-siou.[38]
See also
- List of star names in Pisces
- Pisces (Chinese astronomy)
References
- S2CID 14811051.
- ^ a b c d "Naming Stars". IAU.org. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- Bibcode:1995A&AS..110..107M.
- ^
- S2CID 14878976.
- .
- S2CID 118504829, A90.
- S2CID 59334290.
- S2CID 122811461.
- .
- S2CID 119427037.
- ^ ISBN 0-486-23673-0.
- S2CID 119184859, 129.
- ^ S2CID 118494290, 19.
- S2CID 118304737. Based on log L/L☉ = −3.77.
- S2CID 119284418.
- S2CID 117939625.
- doi:10.1086/122654.
- ^ a b
Wilkins, Jamie; Dunn, Robert (2006). 300 Astronomical Objects: A Visual Reference to the Universe (1st ed.). Buffalo, New York: Firefly Books. ISBN 978-1-55407-175-3.
- ^
R. B. Tully (1988). Nearby Galaxies Catalog. ISBN 978-0-521-35299-4.
- ^
A. Garcia (1993). "General study of group membership. II – Determination of nearby groups". Bibcode:1993A&AS..100...47G.
- ^
G. Giuricin; C. Marinoni; L. Ceriani; A. Pisani (2000). "Nearby Optical Galaxies: Selection of the Sample and Identification of Groups". S2CID 9618325.
- Bibcode:1999AstL...25..140S. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
- IAUCentral Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
- S2CID 15391206.
- ^ Origins of the ancient constellations: I. The Mesopotamian traditions by J. H. Rogers 1998, page 19 page 19 (table 3, rows 2-3) and page 27
- ^ Hard (2015), pp. 84–85.
- ^ Hard (2015), pp. 85–86.
- ISBN 9-780-25320-933-7.
- ISBN 978-0-230-62091-9.
- ^ Ridpath (1988), p. 108.
- ISBN 9-789-00403-503-4.
- ^ a b c d Hevelius, J., (1690) Firmamentum Sobiescianum, Leipzig, Fig.NN
- ISBN 978-0-486-21079-7.
- ^ a b Ciofi, Claudio; Torre, Pietro, Costellazioni Estinte (nate dal 1700 al 1800): Sezione di Ricerca per la Cultura Astronomica
- ^ Smyth, W. H., (1884) The Bedford Catalogue, p. 23
- ^ Staal (1988), pp. 45–46.
- ^ Staal (1988), pp. 45–47.
Sources
- ISBN 978-0-718-82695-6.
- ISBN 978-0-691-13556-4.
- Eratosthenes; Hyginus; Aratus (2015). Hard, Robin (ed.). Constellation Myths: with Aratus's Phaenomena. OUP Oxford. pp. 83–85. ISBN 978-0-191-02652-2.
- Richard Hinckley Allen, Star Names, Their Lore and Legend, New York, Dover: various dates.
- Staal, Julius D. W. (1988). The New Patterns in the Sky: Myths and Legends of the Stars. The McDonald and Woodward Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-939923-04-5.
- Thomas Wm. Hamilton, Useful Star Names, Strategic Books, 2008.
External links
- The Deep Photographic Guide to the Constellations: Pisces
- Ian Ridpath's Star Tales – Pisces
- Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (medieval and early modern images of Pisces)
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