Pisces, the Fishes, is a large, faint zodiac constellation of autumn skies, two fish tied by a cord, and the place where the Sun crosses the equator in March.
At a glance
| stars in the figure | 15 |
|---|---|
| nearest star of the figure | Iota Piscium, 44.7 light-years (13.7 pc) |
| farthest star of the figure | Phi Piscium, 446 light-years (137 pc) |
| depth | the farthest is 10 × farther than the nearest |
| zodiac | ♓ the ecliptic runs through it |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Pisces
Pisces is one of the ancient constellations of the zodiac, drawn as two fish swimming in different directions, their tails joined by a long cord. In one Greek story they are Aphrodite and her son Eros, who became fish to escape the monster Typhon. The knot of the cord is marked by the star Alrescha, whose name means the cord. A small ring of stars below Pegasus, the Circlet, forms the western fish.
None of its stars is bright, yet Pisces holds one of the most important points in the sky: the March equinox, where the Sun crosses the celestial equator heading north, lies within it. Because Earth’s axis slowly wobbles, that point drifts along the zodiac and will in time pass into Aquarius. Pisces also contains Van Maanen’s Star, one of the nearest white dwarfs to the Sun.
Lying on the ecliptic near the celestial equator, Pisces is visible from both hemispheres, best on evenings in the northern autumn, the southern spring.
What you see in the piece
With CONSTELLATIONS (N) on, step away from the HUMAN EYE view (E) and the two fish lose their cord: their nearest drawn star sits many times closer than the farthest, and the long line through the sky becomes stars strewn through depth.
Questions
Why is Pisces important?
Pisces contains the March equinox point, where the Sun crosses the celestial equator heading north. It lies on the ecliptic, so the Sun, Moon and planets pass through it.
How far away are the stars of Pisces?
The nearest star of the figure is Iota Piscium, 44.7 light-years (13.7 pc); the farthest is Phi Piscium, 446 light-years (137 pc). The farthest is 10 × farther than the nearest.