Pisces+-+Gabby+Calluso



Gabby Calluso J. Adkins Intro to Astronomy March 22 2015

Pisces I chose Pisces because it happens to be the zodiac constellation that I was born under. On the ecliptic and celestial equator, it falls between Aquarius to the west and Aries to the east. The name “Pisces” itself, is the Latin plural for fish. The constellation has a peculiar shape that doesn't seem to look anything like a fish at all. It is not a constellation depicting one fish but instead, actually two. The mythology behind Pisces is rooted in Syria, known as Atagartis, the half-woman, half-fish, goddess of love and fertility. She is thought to be the inspiration of the Greek goddesses, Aphrodite and Venus. As legend has it, Aphrodite and Venus jumped into the Euphrates river of Syria, to escape from the monster known as Typhon. They tied themselves to their sons, to stay together. Other cultures interpreted the constellation differently. In Chinese astronomy, the stars of Pisces were incorporated into several constellations. “Wai-ping was a fence that kept a pig farmer from falling into the marshes and kept the pigs where they belonged. The marshes were represented by the four stars designated Phi Ceti. The northern fish of Pisces was a part of the House of the Sandal, Koui-siou.” Alongside it’s captivating mythology, Pisces has a long list of fascinating objects andThe stars located in this constellation are Van Maaneen’s Star, at 12.36 magnitude, H22410 at 7.45 magnitude, Al Rischa or known as “The Cord”, Alpha Piscium 139 lightyears, class A2 at 3.65 apparent magnitude, Fum Al Samakah or known as “Mouth of the Fish” at 4.48 magnitude, Linteum at 4.4 magnitude, Kant at 4.27 magnitude, Revati at 5.21 magnitude, Kullat Nunu or known as “Lord of the Fish) at 3.62 magnitude, Torcular or known as “Thread” at 4.2 magnitude, and Vernalis at 4.03 magnitude. (Wikipedia 2015) Along side these many stars, the constellation is also home to three galaxies. The first being M74, the spiral galaxy found at a distance of thirty-million lightyears. Filled with various clusters of young stars, the French astronomer, Pierre Mechain, discovered this galaxy in 1780. The second being a massive galaxy cluster named CL 0024+1654, primarily compounded of yellow elliptical and spiral galaxies, it can be found at a distance of 5.7 billion light years. The third and final deep-sky object in the Pisces constellation is known by the name 3C 41, and is “an active galaxy and radio source in Perseus, located at a distance of 237 million lightyears from Earth. Its jets, caused by the supermassive black hole at its center, extend several million lightyears in both directions, making them some of the largest objects in the universe.” Bibliography "Pisces (constellation)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2015. Contributor, Kim Ann Zimmermann SPACE.com. "Pisces Constellation: Facts About the Fishes | Space.com." N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2015. "Pisces." Constellation on Top Astronomer. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2015. Pisces Constellation. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web Pisces Constellation. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. Pisces Constellation. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web.