Pisces (constellation): Difference between revisions
imported>AstroLynx Undid revision 1290926845 by Davidatinker (talk) reverted (unsourced) |
Added galaxy photo to support paragraph in the article where M74 is mentioned |
||
| (One intermediate revision by one other user not shown) | |||
| Line 15: | Line 15: | ||
| numbermainstars = 18 | | numbermainstars = 18 | ||
| numberbfstars = 86 | | numberbfstars = 86 | ||
| numberbrightstars = 0 | | numberbrightstars = 0 | ||
| numbernearbystars = 8 | | numbernearbystars = 8 | ||
| Line 31: | Line 30: | ||
* [[Pegasus (constellation)|Pegasus]] | * [[Pegasus (constellation)|Pegasus]] | ||
* [[Aquarius (constellation)|Aquarius]] | * [[Aquarius (constellation)|Aquarius]] | ||
* [[Cetus]] | * [[Cetus (constellation)|Cetus]] | ||
* [[Aries (constellation)|Aries]] | * [[Aries (constellation)|Aries]] | ||
}} | }} | ||
| latmax = [[ | | latmax = [[84th parallel north|84]] | ||
| latmin = [[ | | latmin = [[57th parallel south|57]] | ||
| month = November | | month = November | ||
| notes = | | notes = | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''Pisces''' is a constellation of the [[zodiac]]. Its vast bulk | '''Pisces''' is a constellation of the [[zodiac]]. Its vast bulk — and main asterism viewed in most European cultures per [[Greco-Roman antiquity]] as a distant pair of fishes connected by one cord each that join at an apex — are in the [[Northern celestial hemisphere]]. Its traditional astrological symbol is [[Image:Pisces symbol (fixed width).svg|20px]] (♓︎). Its name is Latin for "fishes". It is between [[Aquarius (constellation)|Aquarius]], of similar size, to the southwest and [[Aries (constellation)|Aries]], which is smaller, to the east. The [[ecliptic]] and the [[celestial equator]] intersect within this constellation and in [[Virgo (constellation)|Virgo]]. The Sun [[subsolar point|passes directly overhead]] of the equator, on average, at approximately this point in the sky, at the [[March equinox]]. | ||
The [[right ascension]]/[[declination]] '''00''' is located within the boundaries of Pisces. | The [[right ascension]]/[[declination]] '''00''' is located within the boundaries of Pisces. | ||
| Line 47: | Line 46: | ||
[[File:PiscesCC.jpg|thumb|left|256px|The constellation Pisces as it can be seen by naked eye]] | [[File:PiscesCC.jpg|thumb|left|256px|The constellation Pisces as it can be seen by naked eye]] | ||
The [[March equinox]] is currently | The [[March equinox]] is currently situated in Pisces, directly south of ω Psc, and because of [[precession]], it is gradually drifting westward, just below the western fish and moving toward [[Aquarius (constellation)|Aquarius]]. | ||
===Stars === | ===Stars === | ||
| Line 55: | Line 54: | ||
{{Hatnote|Note: magnitude, here, means apparent magnitude}} | {{Hatnote|Note: magnitude, here, means apparent magnitude}} | ||
* Alrescha ("the cord"), otherwise [[Alpha Piscium]] (α Psc), 309.8 lightyears, class A2, magnitude 3.62, variable binary star<ref name=wraight2011>{{cite journal |bibcode=2012MNRAS.420..757W |title=A photometric study of chemically peculiar stars with the STEREO satellites - I. Magnetic chemically peculiar stars |last1=Wraight |first1=K. T. |last2=Fossati |first2=L. |last3=Netopil |first3=M. |last4=Paunzen |first4=E. |last5=Rode-Paunzen |first5=M. |last6=Bewsher |first6=D. |last7=Norton |first7=A. J. |last8=White |first8=Glenn J. |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |year=2012 |volume=420 |issue=1 |page=757 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.20090.x |doi-access=free |arxiv=1110.6283 |s2cid=14811051 }}</ref> | * Alrescha ("the cord"), otherwise [[Alpha Piscium]] (α Psc), 309.8 lightyears, class A2, magnitude 3.62, variable binary star<ref name=wraight2011>{{cite journal |bibcode=2012MNRAS.420..757W |title=A photometric study of chemically peculiar stars with the STEREO satellites - I. Magnetic chemically peculiar stars |last1=Wraight |first1=K. T. |last2=Fossati |first2=L. |last3=Netopil |first3=M. |last4=Paunzen |first4=E. |last5=Rode-Paunzen |first5=M. |last6=Bewsher |first6=D. |last7=Norton |first7=A. J. |last8=White |first8=Glenn J. |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |year=2012 |volume=420 |issue=1 |page=757 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.20090.x |doi-access=free |arxiv=1110.6283 |s2cid=14811051 }}</ref> | ||
* Fumalsamakah<ref name="IAU-LSN">{{cite web | url=https://www.iau.org/public/themes/naming_stars/ | title=Naming Stars |publisher=IAU.org |access-date=8 August 2018}}</ref> ("mouth of the fish"), otherwise [[Beta Piscium]] (β Psc), 492 lightyears, class B6Ve, magnitude 4.48 | * Fumalsamakah<ref name="IAU-LSN">{{cite web | url=https://www.iau.org/public/themes/naming_stars/ | title=Naming Stars | publisher=IAU.org | access-date=8 August 2018 | archive-date=10 March 2025 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250310063743/https://www.iau.org/public/themes/naming_stars/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> ("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.<ref name=Meyer1995>{{citation | * [[Delta Piscium]] (δ Psc), 305 lightyears, class K5III, magnitude 4.44. Like other stars near the ecliptic, Delta Piscium is subject to lunar occultations.<ref name=Meyer1995>{{citation | ||
| display-authors=1 | last1=Meyer | first1=C. | | display-authors=1 | last1=Meyer | first1=C. | ||
| Line 112: | Line 111: | ||
| volume=120 | pages=287–316 | year=1960 | issue=4 | postscript=. | | volume=120 | pages=287–316 | year=1960 | issue=4 | postscript=. | ||
| doi=10.1093/mnras/120.4.287 | bibcode=1960MNRAS.120..287G | doi-access=free }}</ref> | | doi=10.1093/mnras/120.4.287 | bibcode=1960MNRAS.120..287G | doi-access=free }}</ref> | ||
* [[Gamma Piscium]] (γ Psc), 138 lightyears, magnitude 3.70. The star hosts an [[exoplanet]] which was discovered in 2021.<ref name=Teng2021 | * [[Gamma Piscium]] (γ Psc), 138 lightyears, magnitude 3.70. The star hosts an [[exoplanet]] which was discovered in 2021.<ref name=Teng2021/> It has a spectral type of G8 III.<ref name="Baines2018">{{cite journal | title=Fundamental Parameters of 87 Stars from the Navy Precision Optical Interferometer | last1=Baines | first1=Ellyn K. | last2=Armstrong | first2=J. Thomas | last3=Schmitt | first3=Henrique R. | last4=Zavala | first4=R. T. | last5=Benson | first5=James A. | last6=Hutter | first6=Donald J. | last7=Tycner | first7=Christopher | last8=Belle | first8=Gerard T. van | display-authors=1 | journal=The Astronomical Journal | volume=155 | at=30 | year=2018 | issue=1 | arxiv=1712.08109 | bibcode=2018AJ....155...30B | doi=10.3847/1538-3881/aa9d8b | s2cid=119427037 | doi-access=free }}</ref> | ||
* [[Van Maanen's Star]] is the closest-known solitary white dwarf to us, with a dim apparent magnitude. It is located about 2° to the south of the star [[Delta Piscium]],<ref name=burham1978>{{citation | first=Robert | last=Burnham | year=1978 | title=Burnham's celestial handbook: an observer's guide to the universe beyond the solar system | volume=3 | series=Dover books explaining science | edition=2nd | publisher=Courier Dover Publications | isbn=0-486-23673-0 | pages=1474–1477 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PJzIt3SIlkUC&pg=PA1474 | postscript=. }}</ref> with a relatively high [[proper motion]] of 2.978″ annually along a [[position angle]] of 155.538°.<ref name=aj147_6_129>{{citation | * [[Van Maanen's Star]] is the closest-known solitary white dwarf to us, with a dim apparent magnitude. It is located about 2° to the south of the star [[Delta Piscium]],<ref name=burham1978>{{citation | first=Robert | last=Burnham | year=1978 | title=Burnham's celestial handbook: an observer's guide to the universe beyond the solar system | volume=3 | series=Dover books explaining science | edition=2nd | publisher=Courier Dover Publications | isbn=0-486-23673-0 | pages=1474–1477 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PJzIt3SIlkUC&pg=PA1474 | postscript=. }}</ref> with a relatively high [[proper motion]] of 2.978″ annually along a [[position angle]] of 155.538°.<ref name=aj147_6_129>{{citation | ||
| display-authors=1 | | display-authors=1 | ||
| Line 159: | Line 158: | ||
=== Deep-sky objects === | === Deep-sky objects === | ||
[[Messier 74|M74]] is a loosely wound (type Sc) [[spiral galaxy]] in Pisces, found at a distance of 30 million light years ([[redshift]] 0.0022). It has many clusters of young stars and the associated [[nebula]]e, showing extensive regions of [[star formation]]. It was discovered by [[Pierre Méchain]], a French astronomer, in 1780. A [[type II-P supernova]] was discovered in the outer regions of M74 by [[Robert Evans (astronomer)|Robert Evans]] in June 2003; the star that underwent the supernova was later identified as a [[red supergiant]] with a mass of 8 [[solar mass]]es.<ref name="Wilkins Dunn 2006" /> It is the brightest member of the [[M74 Group]].<ref> | [[File:M74-Phantom-Galaxy.png|thumb|300px|left|This is M74 - the Phantom Galaxy in the constellation Pisces.]][[Messier 74|M74]] is a loosely wound (type Sc) [[spiral galaxy]] in Pisces, found at a distance of 30 million light years ([[redshift]] 0.0022). It has many clusters of young stars and the associated [[nebula]]e, showing extensive regions of [[star formation]]. It was discovered by [[Pierre Méchain]], a French astronomer, in 1780. A [[type II-P supernova]] was discovered in the outer regions of M74 by [[Robert Evans (astronomer)|Robert Evans]] in June 2003; the star that underwent the supernova was later identified as a [[red supergiant]] with a mass of 8 [[solar mass]]es.<ref name="Wilkins Dunn 2006" /> It is the brightest member of the [[M74 Group]].<ref> | ||
{{cite book | {{cite book | ||
| author=R. B. Tully | | author=R. B. Tully | ||
Latest revision as of 17:30, 17 November 2025
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "about". Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Pisces is a constellation of the zodiac. Its vast bulk — and main asterism viewed in most European cultures per Greco-Roman antiquity as a distant pair of fishes connected by one cord each that join at an apex — are in the Northern celestial hemisphere. Its traditional astrological symbol is File:Pisces symbol (fixed width).svg (♓︎). 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. The Sun passes directly overhead of the equator, on average, at approximately this point in the sky, at the March equinox.
.svg){kind=link}
The right ascension/declination 00 is located within the boundaries of Pisces.
Features
The March equinox is currently situated in Pisces, directly south of ω Psc, and because of precession, it is gradually drifting westward, just below the western fish and moving toward Aquarius.
Stars
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". 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.
Script error: No such module "Hatnote".
- 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]
- Omega Piscium (ω Psc), 106 lightyears, class F4IV, magnitude 4.03. It is an F-type star that is either a subgiant or on the main sequence.[9][10]
- 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]
- Van Maanen's Star is the closest-known solitary white dwarf to us, with a dim apparent magnitude. It is located about 2° to the south of the star Delta Piscium,[12] with a relatively high proper motion of 2.978″ annually along a position angle of 155.538°.[13] It is closer to the Sun than any other solitary white dwarf. It is too faint to be seen with the naked eye.[12] Like other white dwarfs, it is a very dense star: its mass has been estimated to be about 67% of the Sun's,[14] yet it has only 1% of the Sun's radius.[15] The outer atmosphere has a temperature of approximately 6,110 K,[14] which is relatively cool for a white dwarf. As all white dwarfs steadily radiate away their heat over time, this temperature can be used to estimate its age, thought to be around 3 billion years.[16] It was originally thought to be an F-type star before the properties of white dwarfs were known.[17][18]
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
M74 is a loosely wound (type Sc) spiral galaxy in Pisces, found at a distance of 30 million light years (redshift 0.0022). It has many clusters of young stars and the associated nebulae, showing extensive regions of star formation. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain, a French astronomer, in 1780. A type II-P supernova was discovered in the outer regions of M74 by Robert Evans in June 2003; the star that underwent the supernova was later identified as a red supergiant with a mass of 8 solar masses.[19] It is the brightest member of the M74 Group.[20][21][22]
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]
CL 0024+1654 is a massive galaxy cluster that lenses the galaxy behind it, creating arc-shaped images of the background galaxy. The cluster is primarily made up of yellow elliptical and spiral galaxies, at a distance of 3.6 billion light-years from Earth (redshift 0.4), half as far away as the background galaxy, which is at a distance of 5.7 billion light-years (redshift 1.67).[19] [26]
3C 31 is an active galaxy and radio source in Perseus 237 million light-years from Earth (redshift 0.0173). Its jets, caused by the supermassive black hole at its center, extend several million light-years in opposing directions, making them some of the largest objects in the universe.
History and mythology
Pisces originates from some composition of the Babylonian constellations Šinunutu4 "the great swallow" in current western Pisces, and Anunitum the "Lady of the Heaven", at the place of the northern fish. In the first-millennium BC texts known as the Astronomical Diaries, part of the constellation was also called DU.NU.NU (Rikis-nu.mi, "the fish cord or ribbon").[27]
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 Hyginus, Aphrodite and Eros while visiting Syria fled from the monster Typhon by leaping into the Euphrates River and transforming into fishes (Poeticon astronomicon 2.30, citing Diognetus Erythraeus).Template:Sfnp The Roman variant of the story has Venus and Cupid (counterparts for Aphrodite and Eros) carried away from this danger on the backs of two fishes (Ovid Fasti 2.457ff).Template:Sfnp[28]
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 Syrian Goddess) hatched out of it. The fishes were then rewarded by being placed in the skies as a constellation (Fabulae 197).[29]Template:Sfnp This story is also recorded by the Third Vatican Mythographer.[30]
Modern period
.jpg){kind=link}
In 1690, the astronomer Johannes Hevelius in his Firmamentum Sobiescianum regarded the constellation Pisces as being composed of four subdivisions:[31][32]
- 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):[31] χ – ρ,94 – VX(97) – η – π – ο – α Psc.
- Linum Austrinum (the South Cord):[31] α – ξ – ν – μ – ζ – ε – δ – 41 – 35 – ω Psc.
- Piscis Austrinus (the South Fish):[31] ω – ι – θ – 7 – β – 5 – κ,9 – λ – TX(19) Psc.
"Piscis Austrinus" now refers to a separate constellation in its own right, which Hevelius and Bode called Piscis Notius.
In 1754, the botanist and author John Hill proposed to sever a southern zone of Pisces as Testudo (the Turtle).[33] 24 – 27 – YY(30) – 33 – 29 Psc.,[34] It would host a natural but quite faint asterism in which the star 20 Psc is the head of the turtle. While Admiral Smyth mentioned the proposal,[35] it was largely neglected by other astronomers, and it is now obsolete.[34]
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 Great Square of Pegasus.Template:Sfnp
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.Template:Sfnp
See also
References
Sources
- Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- Richard Hinckley Allen, Star Names, Their Lore and Legend, New York, Dover: various dates.
- Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- 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)
Template:Stars of Pisces Template:Constellations Script error: No such module "Navbox". Template:Portal bar Template:Authority control
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Based on log L/Template:Solar luminosity = −3.77.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedWilkins Dunn 2006 - ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ List of Supernovae IAU Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedovid-fasti-tr-nagle - ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedrigoglioso - ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedvan-berg - ↑ a b c d Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedHevelius - ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedallen - ↑ 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