Fact sheet
- Latin name
- Pisces (Psc)
- Brightest star
- Alpherg (η Psc)
- Relative brightness
- 3.61 mag
- Hipparcos catalogue
- HIP 7097
- Area
- 889 deg² (rank: 14 out of 88)
- Right ascension
- 22h 51m 17s to 2h 06m 40s
- Declination
- -6° 18' 27'' to +33° 40' 55''
- Neighbouring constellations
- Andromeda, Pegasus, Aquarius, Cetus, Aries, Triangulum
Visibility
The constellation Pisces
Pisces is a constellation of the northern hemisphere. It lies on the ecliptic and is therefore one of the zodiac constellations. The ecliptic is the apparent path of the Sun over the course of a year. During this time the Sun passes through all the zodiac constellations. From 11 March to 18 April the Sun is in the constellation Pisces. During this time the constellation cannot be observed, because it is in the daytime sky.
Depending on the geographical location, the spring point or the autumn point lies in the constellation Pisces. When the Sun crosses the point where the ecliptic meets the celestial equator on 20 or 21 March, this marks the beginning of astronomical spring in the northern hemisphere and the beginning of autumn in the southern hemisphere. At this time, day and night are of equal length everywhere on Earth (equinox). In antiquity, the spring point still lay in Aries. Due to the precession of the Earth's axis, it has moved into Pisces and will reach Aquarius in around 600 years.
Mythology
According to legend, Cronus, the father of Zeus, was warned by the earth goddess Gaia that one of his descendants would overthrow him. Cronus therefore swallowed all of his children immediately after their birth. However, his wife Rhea managed to hide one of their children from him. This child was given the name Zeus and grew up on Crete. By means of a trick, Zeus gave his father a substance that made him vomit. Cronus then vomited up the brothers and sisters of Zeus. The Cyclopes, whom Zeus freed from Tartarus, gave him “thunder and lightning” in gratitude. Zeus and his brothers and sisters fought a war against the Titans for 10 years. In this war the children of Gaia, the earth goddess, were also defeated and banished to Tartarus. To take revenge, she mated with Tartarus, the personification of a part of the underworld, and gave birth to Typhon. Typhon was a giant with one hundred dragon heads, from whom even the gods fled in panic. Pan, the god of shepherds, warned the gods of an attack by Typhon. He suggested that they should flee from Olympus and hide in the form of animals. The goddess of love, Aphrodite, and her son Eros then jumped into the river Euphrates and turned into fish. The cord that connects the fish in the constellation still stands today for the endless love of a mother for her child.
Astrological significance
People born between 20 February and 20 March are born under the constellation Pisces. They are imaginative, sociable and kind. Helping other people is a basic need for them. They are often dreamy and chaotic, but always extremely charming. Many of them have a strong artistic streak. They prefer to avoid arguments.
