#beta piscium

[quiltofstars]

The constellation of Pisces, the Fishes // E. Slawik/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/M. Zamani

Can you spot this dim constellation?

Click below for some info about Pisces, an annotated image, and some facts about the named stars here!

Pisces, who's name is Latin for "fishes", is one of the original 48 constellations set down by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy.

In Greek mythology, it is associated with the legend that Aphrodite and her son Eros fled from the monster Typhon. They jumped into the Euphrates river and transformed into fish, joined by a cord so they would not be separated.

Although Pisces is a large constellation, there are only two moderately bright stars here, making it the second dimmest of the Zodiac constellations.

In order of brightness, the named stars are:

Alpherg (η Piscium), a binary star about 350 light years away. The primary star is a yellow giant. Its name comes from an Arabic word meaning "the emptying." Maybe.

Torcular (o Piscium) is another binary star about 280 light years away. The primary is an orange giant star. Its name is a shortened form of the Latin phrase Torcularis septentrionalis meaning "the northern wine press." ???

Alrescha (α Piscium) is a triple star system about 157 light years away. The name comes from the Arabic word ar-Rishā’ meaning "the cord."

Fumalsamakah (β Piscium) is a solitary blue-white giant star about 410 light years away. Its name comes from the Arabic phrase fum al-samakah meaning "mouth of the fish."

Revati (ζ Piscium) is a quintuple star system about 170 light years away. The name comes from the Sanskrit word rēvatī (रेवती), an Indian goddess featured in the Mahabharata and Bhagavata Purana.