The Pisces Star Constellation and the Stories Behind its Origin
The Pisces star constellation is one of the largest constellations out of the 88 modern constellations. It is the 14th largest constellation and lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It was one of the 48 constellations that the Greek-Roman astrologer Ptolemy listed in the 2nd century. The constellation occupies a space of around 889 square degrees and lies between the Aries constellation to the east and the Aquarius constellation to the west.
In Roman mythology, the two celestial fish are the symbols of Venus and Cupid, who wore these disguises in order to save themselves from the monster, Typhon. Pisces means “fish” in Latin. The constellation has only one Messier object, the spiral galaxy Messier 74, and only one major meteor, the Pisces. The Pisces Zodiac constellation is one of the 12 zodiac constellations that include Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Virgo, Cancer, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, Scorpio, Capricorn, and Aquarius.
The 13 Stars in the Pisces Constellation
There are 13 stars in the Pisces star constellation, Alpherg(Eta piscium), Van Maanen’s star, Alrescha(Eta Piscium), Fumalsakakah(beta Piscium), Delta Piscium, Epsilon Piscium, Revati, Torculat,Omega Piscium, Gamma Piscium, Nu Piscium, 19 Piscium, 54 Piscium and other deep sky objects.
Alpherg or Eta Pischium is the brightest, G-type giant star in the Pisces star constellation. It has a magnitude of 3.611. It has another young star with a magnitude of 7.51 orbiting it. It is located 350 light-years away from Earth and is 457 times brighter than Sun but cooler than Sun.
- Van Maanen’s Star is a white dwarf star and is 14 light-years away from the solar system. Its magnitude is 12.374. The star is approximately 3 billion years old and is a faint star.
- Alrescha or Alpha Piscium is a binary star with a magnitude of 3.83 and is 151 light-years away from the Earth. It is composed of two components, Primary and Secondary. The Primary component A has a magnitude of +4.33, and it is 32 times brighter than the Sun, whereas the second component B has a magnitude of 5.23 and it is 12 times brighter than the Sun.
- Delta Piscium is a K-type orange giant star with a magnitude of approximately +4.416. It is 311 lightyears away from the Earth and happens to be 447 times brighter than the Sun.
- Epsilon Piscium is a yellow-orange star with a magnitude of approximately 4.27. It is 182 lightyears away from Eart and is 67.6 times brighter than the Sun.
- Revati or Zeta Piscium is a quintuple star system, composed of a Binary star Zeta Piscium A with a combined magnitude of approximately 5.28 and A triple star system Zeta Piscium BC with a magnitude of approximately 6.43. Revati is 170 light-years away from Earth and is an A-type subgiant star that is 27.4 times luminous than the Sun. And you know how high the temperature is? It’s somewhere around 7,345 K. Believe it or not, that much heat can melt even the strongest substances on Earth.
- Torcular or Omicron Piscium is a binary star system that has a combined magnitude of 4.27. And is 280 light-years away from Earth. It is a K-type giant star and 132 times more luminous than the Sun. The star is approximately 390 million years old, uh yeah, which means the star knows the entire history of humans and how we reached where we are.
- Omega Piscium or Cauda Piscis is a subgiant star with a magnitude of approximately 4.01. It is 14.3 light-years away from Earth and is 21 times brighter than the Sun.
- Gamma Piscium is a K-type yellow giant star with a magnitude of approximately 3.699. The star is also the second brightest star in the constellation, about 138 light-years away from Earth and 62.7 times brighter than the Sun.
- Nu Piscium or barium star is another binary star system with a magnitude of approximately 4.44. It is a primary K-type star and a white dwarf companion. The star is 380 times brighter than the Sun and apparently 3.41 billion years old.
- 19 Piscium or TX Piscium is a variable carbon star with a magnitude of approximately 4.79-5.20. It is 900 light-years away from us and can’t be seen with the naked eyes. It is a bright red giant star that is 7,019 times brighter than the Sun.
- 54 Piscium is an orange dwarf star with a magnitude of approximately 5.88 situated 36 light-years away from Earth.
Deep Sky objects are the Colliding galaxies NGC 520, the spiral galaxy NGC 488, the CL 0024+1654 galaxy cluster, the radio galaxy 3C 31, the Pisces Dwarf galaxy, the CGCG 436-030 spiral galaxy, and many other objects. November is the right time to see the Pisces sign constellation in the sky.
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The mythological story behind the origin of the Pisces star constellation
According to Greek mythology, Pisces natives is associated with Aphrodite and her son Eros, who had disguised themselves as fishes to escape from the monster Typhon, sent by Titans. Apparently, they were saved by two fish. As per the Romans, it is about Venus and Cupid, who are the Roman forms of Aphrodite and Eros, being rescued by two fishes.
Pisces Star Constellation Representation
The Pisces star constellation represents two fishes, which are associated with a greek myth. Therefore, it is also known as the Pisces fishes constellation.
Where Is Pisces in the sky right now and When can you see the Constellation?
The Pisces star constellation is located in the first quadrant of the northern hemisphere (NQ1) and at a latitude between +90 degrees and -65 degrees, at the Right Ascension, one hour and the Declination +15 degrees. November is the best month to see the Pisces star constellation. It can be seen at around 9. pm during the beginning of the winter season.
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Lastly
Pisces star constellation can not be easily seen. You need to find a dark sky to recognize this fairly dim constellation. It lies in the northeast to the Aquarius constellation and to the south of the “great square of Pegasus. First, you need to look for the head of the Western Fish, then the Eastern Fish climbing upward to the east of the Square of Pegasus. The Pisces star constellation makes a figure that looks like the English letter “V’. I hope you enjoy looking for this constellation and experiencing the beauty of astronomy.
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