Pisces is one of the largest constellations in the sky. This is one of the zodiac constellations, first cataloged by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. Pisces is the 14th largest constellation, covering an area of 889 square degrees. It is located in the first quadrant of the northern hemisphere (NQ1) and can be seen at latitudes between +90 and -65.
Pisces are between the constellation Aries in the east and Aquarius in the west. Two celestial fish represent the heroes of Roman mythology, Venus and Cupid, who turned into fish to escape from the monster Typhon. Are you intrigued? Then scroll down, because there are 10 more interesting facts about the constellation Pisces.
10. Visibility from different places of the globe
The constellation Pisces can be seen from almost all points on Earth.. Pisces has a legendary history and is one of the constellations of the Zodiac, a set of stellar images that lies along the visible path of the Sun against the sky throughout the year.
The constellation Pisces is most easily seen in October and November or late in the evening in September. Since its stars are relatively dim, Pisces is most visible in the dark country sky.
9. The myth of the love of Cyclops and Galatea
Akid and Galatea are characters from classical mythology, later tied together in Ovid's Metamorphoses. The episode talks about the love between a mortal youth and the Nereid (sea nymph) Galatea; when Cyclops Polyphemus, who is in love with Galatea, kills Akida, Galatea turns his beloved into an immortal river spirit.
According to another version, beloved together rushed into the stormy sea and turned into two fish. Later, the gods ascended them to heaven in the form of a constellation.
8. The myth of the goddess Aphrodite with her son
According to Greek mythology, the fire-breathing monster Typhon was about to overthrow the Olympic gods and devour Aphrodite and her son.
The goddess Aphrodite and her son Eros called to the nymphs for help. According to one version of the legend, two fish came to the rescue and carried Aphrodite and Eros on their backs to a safe place. According to another version, mother and son tied themselves with a rope so that they would not lose each other in the boiling waters, and themselves would be turned into fish.
7. Missing brightest star
Famous stars of the constellation:
The scissium, also known as Alferg or Kullat Nunu. This is a bright giant star (class G), which is 294 light years from Earth and has a brightness 316 times the brightness of the Sun.
Alpha Piscium consists of a pair of white dwarf stars in the immediate vicinity. It is also called Alrescha (“cord”) because it illuminates a place where the tails of two fish seem to be connected.
The Beta Piscium, also known as Fum al Samakah, in Arabic means "mouth of the fish", has a magnitude of 4.53 and is located at a distance of about 492 light years from Earth.
Pisces also boasts the Van Maanen star, named after Adrian van Maanen, the Dutch astronomer who discovered it in 1917. This is the 31st closest star system and the closest single white dwarf to the Sun, only 14.1 light years from us.
Thus in the constellation of fish, all the stars act on a par with each other.
6. Galaxy Messier 74 in the constellation
Messier 74 (M74)nicknamed Ghost Galaxy, is a grand spiral galaxy located in the constellation Pisces.
Messier 74 can be seen in the large binoculars, but it will only look like a faint flare. Small telescopes show the bright core of the galaxy surrounded by a foggy halo, while large telescopes show the spiral arms of the galaxy.
5. Famous constellation neighbors
The constellation Pisces is part of a large group of Pegasus, Andromeda, Aries and Triangul. It is also close to Aquarius.
The Triangulum Galaxy (known as M33) is located right next to the head of western fish. This is a spiral galaxy, which is actually part of the Local Group of galaxies, which includes the Milky Way.
4. Two asterisms: Eastern and Western fish
Fish can be found quite conveniently if you look at the sign known as Pegasus Big Square. First find the Pisces Diadem - otherwise called the head of the Western Fish - south of Pegasus Square.
Once you find the western fish, go from there to catch the eastern fish, which jumps up east of Pegasus Square. The whole constellation looks like the letter V.
3. In Pisces was the vernal equinox
The Greek astronomer Hipparchus from Nikia (190-120 BC) coined the term “Aries first point” when he noticed that the Sun was in the constellation Aries during the vernal equinox. However, the apparent position of the vernal equinox of the Sun continuously shifted along the ecliptic by about 1 degree every 73 years due to the precession oscillation.
According to astronomer Jean Mius, the vernal equinox crossed the border of Aries and Pisces in 68 BC. Ironically, this shift occurred less than a century after the death of Hipparchus. Since then, the vernal equinox has been moving west through Pisces.
In 2597 AD, the vernal equinox will move to Aquarius, the Water Carrier. Or, to be more precise, it will move into a straightforward region, which the International Astronomical Union has defined as the "region" of Aquarius.
2. Meteor shower Piscida
Omega Piscid:
The Omega Pissids meteor shower occurs within the boundaries of the constellation Pisces and occurs every year on September 19.
The closest star to the radiant point of the meteor shower is the Omega Pismium (Right Ascension (0.5) and Declination (-8.8)).
Asteroid 2001 HA4 is believed to be the source of the meteor shower, and the speed of fireballs is 21 km / s.
Southern Delta Piscids:
The Southern Delta Piscida meteor shower occurs within the boundaries of the constellation Pisces every year on September 19.
The closest star to the radiant point of the meteor shower is Linteum (Right Ascension (16.2) and Declination (2.8)).
Asteroid 2003 QC10 is believed to be the source of the meteor shower, and particles fly at a speed of 29 km / s.
1. The constellation enters the zodiac circle
The zodiac is a circle around the Earth used in astronomy to accurately determine the position of planets and other objects in our outer space. Since ancient times, this circle has been divided into twelve parts, each with a width of 30 from a total circle of 360. These are zodiac signs.
Your zodiac sign (or sign of the Sun) is the sign that the sun occupied at the time of your birth. This is not all in the full birth chart, but the Sun is very important in the horoscope, so it has a great influence.
The sun moves on the zodiac exactly 1 degree per day. This means that he spends about a month on each zodiac sign and goes through them all for a year. Of course, this is indeed the Earth revolving around the Sun, but astrology uses a geocentric perspective, which was believed in antiquity, where it seems as if the Sun revolves around the Earth.
Please note that the Sun does not spend exactly one month in each zodiac sign, since twelve months do not last all 30 days. In addition, the year is not 360 days, as in degrees of a circle, but 365 and a quarter. This is the reason for our leap years when we add a day. Thus, the date when the Sun moves from one zodiac sign to another can shift for a whole day from year to year.
Those born under the sign of fish are friendly and pleasant, but can be very moody and introspective. Pisces is a watermark associated with subtle emotions and secret mystical depths. Fish are not quite at home in this world. Pisces are dreamy and full of imagination, and they are easily influenced by everything that surrounds them, and they are very sensitive to the emotions of others.