Pisces Constellation: The Ultimate Guide

In Egyptian mythology, the constellation of Pisces appears in the Zodiac of Dendera, where it also has the form of a giant fish. According to myth, this fish saved the life of the Egyptian goddess Isis. She was one of the principal goddesses of the ancient Egyptian religion.

He would be placed in the sky as a constellation accompanying his descendants for eternity.

Initially, the Southern Fish "Piscis Austrinus" was the only fish-shaped constellation in the eighth century BC.

The Greek astronomer Eratosthenes was the first person to tell the origin of the fish in the constellation of Pisces. In the story, she reveals that the goddess Decerto, who was half woman and half fish, one day fell into a lagoon from which she could not get out, and a large fish saved her.

Later the Latin writer Hyginus would change the story based on the myth of the goddess Venus and her son Cupid.

These two characters were surprised by the monster Typhon. To escape, Venus took Cupid's hand and plunged into the water, where they both transformed into fish. They tied themselves with a rope to ensure the current did not separate them, And in the sky, mother and son are captured in the form of fish joined by a string.

In Greek mythology, the characters of Venus and Cupid were changed to Aphrodite and Eros.

In 1690, astronomer Johannes Hevelius, considered "the founder of lunar topography," proposed that the constellation Pisces was composed of four subdivisions:

• Pisces Boreus (the fish of the north)
• Linum Boreum (the northern cord)
• Linum Austrinum (the southern cord)
• Piscis Austrinus (the southern fish)

Currently, Piscis Austrinus is an independent constellation, separate from Pisces.

Since the eighteenth century, Pisces has undergone very few changes in its borders; the International Astronomical Union, which is responsible for delimiting the regions of the constellations, considers Pisces and Piscis Austrinus as two independent constellations

The exoplanet has 2.1 times the radius of the Earth and, according to the survey, could have a temperature between 40º C and 60º C, so it could have liquid water, which makes it a significant candidate to host earthly life.

Pisces is in the first quadrant of the northern hemisphere (NQ1), and it's visible at latitudes between + 90° and -65°.

This means we can see the constellation of Pisces in the night sky from almost every part of the world. The only exception is Antarctica.

Pisces is visible from North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia.

Pisces is a seasonal constellation, which means it can't be seen in the sky year-round. It belongs to the group of northern autumn constellations.

We can see it from the end of October to December. The best month to see this constellation is in early November.

Observers with telescopes must locate Pisces at the coordinates +90° and -65°. Right ascension: 1 hour. Declination: 15 degrees.

Amateur observers can quickly find Pisces by locating the Great Pegasus Square, a quadrilateral just north of Pisces.

In the south of the Great Square of Pegasus is the Ring of Pisces, also known as the head of the Western Fish.

The entire constellation is shaped like the letter V.

The bordering constellations of Pisces are Andromeda, Aquarius, Aries, Cetus, Pegasus, and Triangulum.

Pisces belong to 12 zodiacal constellations alongside Gemini, Taurus, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Aries.

Pisces does not have exceptionally bright stars; its most shining star is Alpherg; it also contains 13 stars with planets and variable stars that change their magnitude (brightness) during the year. Some of these stars may be twice as bright or fainter.

In Piscis, there are nine stars with names approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU): Alpherg, Alrescha, Bélénos, Citadelle, Ebla, Fumalsamakah, Parumleo, Revati, and Torcular.

Its brightest stars are: η Piscium (99 Piscium), γ Psc (6 Piscium), ω Psc (28 Piscium) and ι Psc (17 Piscium).

Alpherg or Eta Piscium is the brightest star in the constellation Pisces. It is a binary system with a weaker companion of magnitude 7.51.

The system's central star is a yellow giant of spectral type G7 IIIa,457 times more luminous than the Sun, 26 times more extensive, and contains approximately 3.78 solar masses.

It is located 350 light-years away, with a temperature of 4,937 K.

Alpherg comes from the Arabic, Al Pherg, which means "the jet of water".

Located 138 light-years away, Gamma Piscium is the second brightest star in Pisces. It is a yellow giant star with the stellar classification of G9 III.

The star is 61 times more luminous than the Sun and ten times more giant. Calculations estimate that it is 5.5 billion years old.

It is also part of an asterism called Circlet of Pisces, which is the head of the fish in the constellation of Pisces.

Omega Piscium is a yellowish subgiant star 1.8 times more massive than the Sun and 20 times more luminous. It has a stellar rating of F4IV and an apparent visual magnitude of 4,036.

It is approximately 106 light-years away from our solar system. Some astronomers suspect that the star is a nearby binary system whose companion has not yet been discovered.

Iota Piscium is located 44.73 light-years from Earth and is a yellow-white dwarf with the stellar classification of F7 V. It has an apparent magnitude of 4.13. Because of this, it is a larger and more luminous star than the Sun.

Observations indicate that Iota Piscium is a variable star with two stellar companions in line of sight with Earth.

With a mass barely 5% greater than that of the SUN HD 217107 is an ancient yellow subgiant star, with an age of 7,320 years.

HD 217017 has a metallicity 2.3 times greater than the Sun, which means this star has a planetary system.

This star has two planets orbiting around it. The first is 1.39 larger than Jupiter and falls exceptionally close to the principal, completing an orbit every seven days.

The second planet is 2.60 larger than Jupiter, and it takes 8 Earth years to complete an orbit around the star.

For now, evidence of metallicity suggests that the system might contain rocky planets like Earth, but none found.

Located 106 light-years away, it is a yellow subgiant with a mass similar to our Sun. Also, it has a high iron content, a characteristic of stars with planetary systems.

In 2000, an extrasolar planet was detected orbiting this star with approximately 6.38 times more mass than Jupiter, a gas giant.

54 Psc is an orange dwarf star (spectral class K0V) of magnitude 6. It is less massive and luminous than the Sun and lies at a distance of only 36 light-years, making it one of the closest stars to Earth.

In 2003 a team of astronomers found a planet orbiting this star, 54 Piscium b, with a minimum mass five times lower than Jupiteriter. This exoplanet completes a revolution around its star every two months.

Messier 74 is the only Messier object within the regions of the constellation Pisces, located at a distance of between 23 and 30 million light-years from the Milky Way.

It is a spiral-type galaxy with a composition, age, and size similar to the Milky Way. Despite its bright colors, it is one of the most challenging objects to find in the sky because it has faint stains.

Messier 74 was discovered in 1780 by Pierre Méchain, who would later share his discovery with Charles Messier.

This galaxy has thousands of young star clusters, stellar nebulae, and blue giant stars that give it that sapphire-blue appearance, which is only perceptible with telescopes of astronomical observatories.

Also known as NGC Group 628 is a small group of 5 to 7 galaxies in the constellation Pisces, the brightest of them all being Messier 74.

It consists of a galaxy cluster composed of elliptical galaxies and yellow spirals.

It is approximately 3.6 billion light-years from the Milky Way.

With a diameter of about 52.6 Kpc (171,000 light-years), it is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Pisces located at about 90 million light-years from Earth.

This galaxy has a prominent bulge in the center. It is considered a prototype galaxy with several spiral arms that give it a unique appearance since they are strongly coiled.

Studies reveal that the nucleus of NGC 488 is twice as rich in metals as the galaxy's central bulge, having a nature similar to the Milky Way.

NGC 520 is a pair of colliding spiral galaxies located 105 million light-years from the Milky Way.

Computer simulations indicate that this object comprises two galactic disks that began merging about 300 million years ago. The system is still at an early stage of its interaction as two small tails, and two galactic nuclei are observed.

In the constellation of Pisces, there is a shower of stars called The Psids or Austrinid Pisces, which takes place between July 12 and August 23.

• The constellation of Pisces is one of the oldest, and it appears in Ptolemy's almagest.
• Despite the more prominent constellations as it has mainly faint stars.
• Previously Pisces was called Nunu is the Babylonian word used to bind fish.

• Since Pisces is the constellation of the zodiac, it belongs to the family of constellations of the zodiac. 
• Pisces means "Fish," its history comes from Ancient Greece that would later be adapted to the story of Aphrodite and Eros.
• Pisces is a constellation of the northern hemisphere, but we can see it from all the countries in the world. The best time to see Pisces is in November. 
• Pisces is difficult to locate because the main stars are not bright enough, and the best way is to find the first quadrant of pegasus.
• The brightest star in the constellation is Alpherg, and the most notable galaxy within the borders of Pisces is M74.
• The meteor shower within the borders of Pisces is named after the Pisces.

1. https://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/pisces-constellation/
2. http://www.seasky.org/constellations/constellation-pisces.html
3. https://www.space.com/21456-pisces-constellation.html
4. https://nineplanets.org/pisces-constellation/
5. https://earthsky.org/constellations/pisces-heres-your-constellation/