Pisces (constellation)
| Constellation | |
|
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| Abbreviation | Psc |
|---|---|
| Genitive | Piscium |
| Pronunciation | /ˈpaɪsiːz/, genitive /ˈpɪʃiəm/ |
| Symbolism | the Fishes |
| Right ascension | 1 |
| Declination | +15 |
| Family | Zodiac |
| Quadrant | NQ1 |
| Area | 889 sq. deg. (14th) |
| Main stars | 18 |
|
Bayer/Flamsteed stars |
86 |
| Stars with planets | 13 |
| Stars brighter than 3.00m | 0 |
| Stars within 10.00 pc (32.62 ly) | 8 |
| Brightest star | η Psc (Alpherg) (3.62m) |
| Nearest star |
Van Maanen's Star (14.07 ly, 4.31 pc) |
| Messier objects | 1 |
| Meteor showers | Piscids |
| Bordering constellations |
|
|
Visible at latitudes between +90° and −65°. Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of November. |
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Pisces is a constellation of the zodiac. Its name is the Latin plural for fish. It lies between Aquarius to the west and Aries to the east. The ecliptic and the celestial equator intersect within this constellation and in Virgo.
The vernal equinox is currently located in Pisces, due south of ω Psc, and, due to precession, slowly drifting below the western fish towards Aquarius.
M74 is a loosely wound (type Sc) spiral galaxy in Pisces, found at a distance of 30 million light years (redshift 0.0022). It has many clusters of young stars and the associated nebulae, showing extensive regions of star formation. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain, a French astronomer, in 1780. A type II-P supernova was discovered in the outer regions of M74 by Robert Evans in June 2003; the star that underwent the supernova was later identified as a red supergiant with a mass of 8 solar masses.
NGC 488 is an isolated face-on prototypical spiral galaxy.
NGC 520 is a pair of colliding galaxies located 90 million lightyears away.
CL 0024+1654 is a massive galaxy cluster that lenses the galaxy behind it, creating arc-shaped images of the background galaxy. The cluster is primarily made up of yellow elliptical and spiral galaxies, at a distance of 3.6 billion light-years from Earth (redshift 0.4), half as far away as the background galaxy, which is at a distance of 5.7 billion light-years (redshift 1.67).
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