28 Pisces Constellation Facts: Zodiac Details That Will Amaze You!

Pisces is named after the Latin plural for 'fish'.

The Pisces constellation has an area of 889 square degrees. Additionally, the Pisces constellation is the 14th biggest constellation in the sky.

While it is a rather wide constellation, its stars are weak. There is absence of bright stars, as there are none brighter than the fourth magnitude. This makes it difficult to spot with the naked eye in the night sky. There is also a spiral galaxy in this constellation.

Here are a few Pisces constellation facts to note: Pisces is renowned for containing the point where the sun crosses the celestial equator into the northern hemisphere each year around March 20; according to scientists, the vernal equinox used to be inside the constellation of Aries.

However, it has now migrated into Pisces due to the Earth's wobble on its axis, known as a precession.

The Location Of The Pisces Constellation

Pisces is located in the first quarter of the northern hemisphere and is characterized by a vast V-shaped sector.

Its vast size in the spiral galaxy, along with its faint stars, makes it difficult to spot in the night sky.

Early fall is the best time for northern hemisphere watchers to see Pisces.

The Pisces constellation cannot be observed from the southern hemisphere.

Between October and December in the northern hemisphere, the constellation Pisces, or the fish, can be seen in the sky.

Located at latitudes ranging from 90 to -65 degrees, it is a large constellation with an area of 889 square degrees.

It is the 14th largest star system in the night sky among spiral galaxies.

The Pisces constellation is located slightly south of Pegasus, between Aquarius to the west and Aries to the east.

Pisces is one of the zodiac's 13 constellations. This implies that it is located along the route that the sun takes in the sky during the year.

The March equinox is presently in the sign of Pisces. However, owing to the earth's axial movement, it is progressively migrating towards Aquarius.

The location is 0.85 hours for a right ascension, and a 11.08 degree declination. It is visible between 90 degrees and - 65 degrees latitude.

The best time to view is between November 6 and November 9, at 9 p.m. in the northern sky.

Pisces is located to the northeast of Aquarius and to the northwest of Cetus the Sea-monster. Triangulum, Andromeda, Pegasus, and Aries are the constellations that border Pisces.

Characteristics Of The Pisces Constellation

Pisces is represented in the sky by two fish swimming at right angles to one another, one in the north and one to the west, according to Greek mythology.

They are connected by a cord in the binary star system.

According to Ridpath, the fish are the Greek goddess Aphrodite and her son Eros. They transformed into fish and jumped into the Euphrates River to avoid the blazing breath of the monster, Typhon. He is regarded as the most awful monster the world has ever seen.

Pisces is the 12th Zodiac sign, representing persons born between February 20 and March 20.

Pisces was not only one of the zodiac constellations, but it was also one of the original 48 Greek constellations named by Ptolemy in the second century.

It is the 14th biggest constellation in the sky, spanning 889 square degrees.

This constellation depicts the fabled fish from Aphrodite and her son Eros's narrative. Two fish rescued them from the monster, Typhon.

Its name is derived from Latin and literally translates as 'fish'.

There is only one Messier object here, the spiral galaxy, Messier 74.

The constellation is usually associated with the Roman mythology of Venus and Cupid (or son Eros), who tied themselves with a rope and transformed into western fish to escape the monster, Typhon.

The Piscid meteor showers are connected with Pisces in the elliptical galaxy.

TAlpherg, an evolved giant star, is one of the brightest stars in Pisces. It is known as Eta Piscium, and its apparent magnitude is 3.62.

13 stars in Pisces have been found to be home to planets.

There are nine named stars in Pisces, including Van Maanen's star, Alrescha, Revati, and Torcular, among many more.

Van Maanen's star is a white dwarf, one of the nearest to the sun. It is only 14 light-years distant from us.

There are also several galaxies here, including NGC 520, the radio galaxy 3C 31, and the Pisces Dwarf Galaxy, among others.

The month of November is the greatest time to see the Pisces constellation and all of its components.

Aquarius and Aries are two more zodiac constellations that are close to Pisces.

Stars Of The Pisces Constellation

The major stars in Pisces are dim stars.

Kallat Nunu is the brightest of them all. It has a visual magnitude of 3.62 and is a yellow giant star. It is 316 times brighter than the sun and 26 times bigger.

At magnitude 3.69, Gamma Piscium is the second brightest star. It is also a yellow star 61 times brighter than the sun.

Alrischa is the third brightest giant star in the sky, with a magnitude of 3.82. It's a binary star system roughly 140 light-years away from Earth.

M74, a Messier object, is located in Pisces. It is a stunning face-on spiral galaxy 32 million light-years away from Earth.

M74 is quite dark, making amateur astronomers struggle to view it. It is estimated to have 100 million galaxy's stars. Several additional faint galaxies can also be located here.

NGC 488 is the most remarkable of them, a spiral galaxy with tightly coiled spiral arms and black dust lanes.

The brightest star in Pisces is Eta Piscium, commonly known as Alpherg or Kullat Nunu. It is a brilliant giant star (G class), 294 light-years away from Earth with brightness 316 times that of the sun.

Gamma Piscium, a yellow giant 130 light-years from Earth, is the constellation's third brightest star.

Alpha Piscium is the fourth brightest star in Pisces and is composed of two white dwarf stars that are close together.

Another name is Alrescha ('the rope') because it lights the area where the tails of the two fish appear to be connected together.

Beta Piscium, Fum al Samakah, Arabic for 'mouth of the fish', has a magnitude of 4.53 and is located around 492 light-years from Earth.

Stars Gamma is 138 lightyears away at a magnitude 3.70.

Van Maanen's Star, named after Adrian van Maanen, a Dutch astronomer who discovered it in 1917, is likewise located in Pisces. At only 14.1 light-years distant, it is the 31st closest star system and the closest solitary white dwarf to the sun.

Pisces also has Messier objects, which are galaxies, nebulae, and giant star clusters discovered by the 18th-century French astronomer, Charles Messier.

Messier 74 is a spiral galaxy that may be found between the stars alpha Arietis and Eta Piscium. Masses made of a yellow elliptical galaxy can also be found.

Recent News About Pisces

Pisces has been in news in the recent past.

The Hubble Space Telescope observed a twin spiral galaxy, designated Pisces A and Pisces B, in 2014.

Two years later, astronomers disclosed the data from those investigations, which suggested that the dwarf galaxies used to be isolated. But over time, they drifted to a neighboring group of galaxies, a process that increased star formation.

The study of Pisces A and Pisces B, according to the researchers, can also give information on what dwarf galaxies today may have looked like in the distant past.

In 2013, researchers studying the galaxy NGC 660 reported a massive explosion caused by a black hole.

The astronomers ruled out a supernova (star explosion) occurrence after discovering five spots with strong radio emissions near the galaxy's center. 'The most plausible interpretation is that there are jets coming from the core.

But they are precessing or wobbling, and the hot areas we detect are where the jets smacked against the material around the galaxy's nucleus,' Arecibo Observatory's, Chris Salter, explained.

A number of exoplanets have also been discovered in the constellation.

Researchers discovered a world dubbed GU Pisces B in 2014 that circles at 2,000 times the Earth-sun distance. It implies that the planet takes around 80,000 Earth years to orbit its star one time.

When the Kepler Space Telescope began its new observation mission later that year, it detected a super-Earth dubbed HIP 116454b some 180 light-years away.

The next year, a Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) probe looked for signals in HIP 116454b, but it came up empty.

The Bordering Constellation To Pisces

Pisces is located to the northeast of Aquarius and to the northwest of Cetus, the sea-monster. Triangulum, Andromeda, Pegasus, and Aries are the constellations that border Pisces.