Pisces

Shelby Hernandez

PHYS 1040 – Sec 403

Constellation Paper
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Mythology

The constellation of Pisces is based on a tale from Greek mythology and involves three

main characters. First, we have Typhon, son of the Earth Goddess Gaia. Typhon was a gigantic

monster who was as tall and wide as the mountains with the head of a hundred dragons. Typhon could

breathe fire from his many eyes and was capable of destruction on a massive scale; he was the fiercest

and the most feared monster in Greek mythology. (“Pisces Constellation”)

One day Gaia ordered Typhon to destroy Olympus, home of the Gods. On his approach to

Olympus, the Gods began to flee including the other two characters in the tale, Aphrodite the Goddess

of Beauty and her son Eros, the God of Love. After reaching a riverbank Aphrodite and Eros tie a rope

to each other and turn themselves into fish before leaping into the water, the rope prevented them from

becoming separated as they eventually swam to safety. To celebrate the event the figures of two fish

were later placed amongst the stars. (“Pisces Constellation”)

Astrology

Pisces Astrology

Element: Water
Quality: Mutable
Color: Mauve, Lilac, Purple, Violet, Sea Green.
Day: Thursday
Ruler: Neptune, Jupiter
Greatest Overall Compatibility: Virgo, Taurus
Lucky Numbers: 3,9,12,15,18,24
Date Range: February 19 - March 20
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Pisces Traits

Strengths:
Compassionate, artistic, intuitive, gentle, wise, musical
Weaknesses:
Fearful, overly trusting, sad, desire to escape reality, can be a victim or a martyr
Pisces likes:
Being alone, sleeping, music, romance, visual media, swimming, spiritual themes
Pisces dislikes:
Know-it-all, being criticized, the past coming back to haunt, cruelty of any kind
Pisces are very friendly, so they often find themselves in a company of very different

people. Pisces are selfless; they are always willing to help others, without hoping to get anything

back. Pisces is a Water sign and as such, this zodiac sign is characterized by empathy and

expressed emotional capacity. Their ruling planet is Neptune, so Pisces are more intuitive than

others are and have an artistic talent. Neptune is connected to music, so Pisces reveal music

preferences in the earliest stages of life. (“Pisces Zodiac Sign Pisces Horoscope”)

They are generous, compassionate and extremely faithful and caring. People born under

the Pisces sign have an intuitive understanding of the life cycle and thus achieve the best

emotional relationship with other beings. Pisces-born are known by their wisdom, but under the

influence of Uranus, Pisces sometimes can take the role of a martyr, in order to catch the

attention. Pisces are never judgmental and always forgiving. Are known to be most tolerant of all

the zodiac signs. (“Pisces Zodiac Sign Pisces Horoscope”)

The Constellation and Stars

Pisces, named for the Latin plural of fish, occupies 889 square degrees, making it the 14th

largest constellation overall. While it is a large constellation, its stars are faint — none is brighter

than fourth magnitude — making it challenging to see in the sky with the naked eye.

(Zimmermann, K. A., 2018)

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Pisces is notable for containing the point at which the sun crosses the celestial equator into

the Northern Hemisphere around March 20 each year. This point, called the vernal equinox, used

to lie in Aries, but has moved into Pisces because of the Earth's wobble on its axis, called

precession, according to astronomer and author Ian Rid path. (Zimmermann, K. A., 2018)

Pisces is in the first quadrant of the Northern Hemisphere and covers a large V-shaped

region. Its large area, coupled with its dim stars, makes it hard to pick out in the night sky.

Northern Hemisphere observers are able to see Pisces most clearly in early autumn.

 Right Ascension: 0.85 hours

 Declination: 11.08 degrees

 Visible: Between latitudes 90 degrees and minus 65 degrees

 Best viewed: at 9 p.m. between Nov. 6 and Nov. 9.

Pisces is located northeast of Aquarius and to the northwest of the constellation Cetus the Sea-

monster. Other constellations bordering Pisces are Triangulum, Andromeda, Pegasus and Aries.

One of the key ways to identify Pisces is to find the Circlet of Pisces — also known as the head

of the Western Fish — to the south of the Square of Pegasus. The Eastern Fish can be seen

leaping upward to the east of the Square of Pegasus [See Figure 1]. (Zimmermann, K. A., 2018)

Figure #1 Pisces Constellation

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Notable Stars and Objects

Eta Piscium, also known as Alpherg or Kullat Nunu, is Pisces’ brightest star. A bright

giant star (G class) is 294 light-years from Earth and has a luminosity that is 316 times that of the

sun. These are the brightest starts because they are at the end of their life and have expanded in

size. The constellation’s second brightest star is a yellow giant about 130 light-years from Earth

known as Gamma Piscium. (Zimmermann, K. A., 2018)

Alpha Piscium is the third brightest star in Pisces. It is also called Alrescha ("the cord")

as it illuminates the spot where it appears that the tails of the two fish are tied together. Also

known as Fum al Samakah, Arabic for “mouth of the fish,” Beta Piscium has a magnitude of

4.53 and is about 492 light-years from Earth. (Zimmermann, K. A., 2018)

Pisces also boasts Van Maanen’s Star, named for Adrian van Maanen, the Dutch

astronomer who discovered it in 1917. It is the 31st closest star system and the nearest single

white dwarf to the sun, at just 14.1 light-years away. Pisces also contains a Messier object —

which are galaxies, nebulae and star clusters recorded by 18th Century French astronomer

Charles Messier. Messier 74 is a spiral galaxy located between the stars alpha Arietis and eta

Piscium. (Zimmermann, K. A., 2018)

Messier 74 (M74), nicknamed the Phantom Galaxy, is a grand design spiral galaxy

located in the constellation Pisces. The galaxy appears face-on and has an apparent magnitude of

10. It lies at an approximate distance of 30 million light years from Earth. Its designation in the

New General Catalogue is NGC 628. Messier 74 occupies an area of 10.5 by 9.5 arc minutes of

apparent sky, which corresponds to a linear diameter of 95,000 light years, almost the size of the

Milky Way. The galaxy is home to about 100 billion stars. (Admin, 2015)
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Fun Facts

Pisces is a large but faint constellation containing no bright stars. The constellation is

only fully visible in areas away from light pollution. Pisces is visible in both the Northern and

Southern hemispheres. In the Northern hemisphere, Pisces can be seen from August to January.

Pisces is one of the twelve signs of the astrological zodiac. Pisces has been recognized as a

constellation for over 3,000 years although the ancient Babylonians associated it with a swallow

bird. Pisces is one of the trickiest constellations to view in the night sky due to its dimness.

(“Pisces Constellation”)

In the Southern hemisphere Pisces can be viewed in the months of spring, it will appear

upside down, in comparison to how it appears in the Northern hemisphere. Pisces is not home to

any notable deep sky objects, the most interesting object is M74, a spiral galaxy some 30 million

light years from Earth, which is faintly visible through a telescope. (“Pisces Constellation”)

By some definitions, we’ll continue to live within the Age of Pisces as long the sun shines in

front of this constellation on the March equinox. By the way, although the sun hasn’t appeared in

front of the constellation Aries on the equinox for over 2,000 years, we still refer to the March

equinox point as the First Point in Aries. If we accept the constellation boundaries as defined by

the International Astronomical Union, the Age of Pisces started in 68 B.C. and the Age of

Aquarius will begin in 2597. (“Pisces? Here’s your constellation)

The reason I chose Pisces is because I was born on March 17, 1998, Pisces is my zodiac sign.

I wanted to learn more about the constellation itself and the location, which now I am able to

find. I never knew that there was a mythology behind it, which is how it became a constellation.
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I am not really into astrology, but once I read the information about their traits, favorite colors,

likes/dislikes, I was shocked on how accurate it was.

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Bibliography

(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.solarsystemquick.com/universe/pisces-constellation.htm

Admin. (2015, July 24). Admin. Retrieved from https://www.messier-objects.com/messier-74-

phantom-galaxy/

Pisces? Here's your constellation. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://earthsky.org/astronomy-

essentials/pisces-heres-your-constellation

Pisces Zodiac Sign Pisces Horoscope. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.astrology-zodiac-

signs.com/zodiac-signs/pisces/

Zimmermann, K. A. (2018, January 22). Pisces Constellation: Facts About the Fishes. Retrieved

from https://www.space.com/21456-pisces-constellation.html