Stockton Astronomical Society
Valley Skies - November 1998 Issue
Constellations:
Pisces the Fishes
Gen: Piscium
Abb: Psc
Dec: -06.6° to +33.4°
RA: 22h 49m to 2h 04m
As we continue along the path of the zodiac, the next constellation to the east is Pisces (PIE-sees). Although Pisces is one of the largest constellations it is also one of hardest to make out, having virtually no bright stars that stand out as landmarks. When viewed in the sky it appears as a large "V" with a group of seven stars at it's southwest corner that forms the "Circlet". In pictures the Circlet is the southern fish that is hooked on a knotted cord to the northern fish.
Pisces is the 14th largest constellation covering 889 square degrees of the sky. Centuries ago, when the concept of the zodiac and celestial coordinates was first devised, the vernal equinox (the time that the sun crosses the celestial equator on March 21st) was in Aries. This made Aries the first sign in the zodiac. Due to the westerly precession of the sky, this 0° position on the ecliptic, known as the 'First Point of Aries' is now near the southwestern border of Pisces. The First Point of Aries moved into Pisces around 2000 years ago and will move into Aquarius early in the next millennium. Until then, Pisces will remain the first constellation of the zodiac.
Many western cultures throughout history have associated Pisces with fish. The Greeks related Pisces to the story of how Aphrodite and her son Eros escaped the monster Typhon. Typhon was a half-man/half-animal monster, with 100 dragon's heads coming from his fingers, and so tall that his head touched the stars. As Zeus battled Typhon, Aphrodite tied a rope to herself and Eros so they would not be separated as they swam up the Nile River to escape the battle. After a long hard fight, Zeus finally defeated Typhon with thunderbolts and placed Aphrodite and Eros in the sky as they looked during their escape up the Nile.
To the people of ancient Syria, Pisces represented their goddess Derke who was pictured as a woman's head on a fish's body. To the Chinese it was viewed as a pig and as a home for the Northern Emperor. It was not until the introduction of western civilization that they began describing the constellation as fish. Early in the Christian faith, Pisces came to represent the loaves of bread and fish that Jesus used to feed the hungry.
Exploring in Pisces
This month we will start at the Circlet that forms the fish's mouth, then head east down the line of stars that form its back, or the cord, to the two stars that make up the knot, then up the cord to the northern fish.
To find the Circlet, look for the southwestern star in the Great Square of Pegasus (a Pegasi), then come down 12° to b Piscium. b Piscium -- known to the Arabs as Fum al Samakah, meaning the 'Fish's Mouth' -- is the westernmost star in the Circlet.
From here let your eyes drift east to make out the Circlet or "Fish's Head". Move to where the Circlet joins the back of the fish. The first star on the back is Omega (w) Piscium; this star is ¼° west of the 0-hour of right ascension. With your scope on Omega, move 1° south-southwest to NGC 7785.
NGC 7785 is a very small elliptical galaxy with an irregularly round shape and a brighter core. With a magnitude of 11.6 this galaxy is one of the brightest in the area but still very hard to find.
Travel along the cord to Delta (d) Piscium, a magnitude 4.4 star. This is the western star of the knot. 2° to the south of Delta is Van Maanen's star (WOLF 28) at magnitude 14.2. Van Maanen's star is the 26th closest star to the Earth; it is beyond difficult to find due to its magnitude and the fact that it is roughly the same size as the Earth. Although it is small it does have 0.68 the mass of our Sun, making it part of a special class of "Late White Dwarf" stars.
For our next object move to the eastern star in Aries and, with your finder scope, look for two stars followed by two more stars then one star as you move west. In the center between the last group of two stars and the one star, Eta (e) Piscium, you will find NGC 628 (M74). M74 has a magnitude of 9.4 but since it is a face on spiral galaxy its light is spread over a large area, making it much dimmer than its magnitude would suggest. Try using a low power eyepiece and move the scope to help bring it out. M74 is also the first or second target of the night on a Messier Marathon -- even harder to find in the twilight.
There is not a great deal in Pisces. All the objects are dim -- a good challenge, but worth the hunt.
Happy Star-Hopping...Eric Reichenbach
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Lasted Updated: 11/30/2000
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