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Pisces (constellation)

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Pisces is a constellation that originated from Babylonian constellations including Šinunutu 4 "the great swallow" and Anunitum the "Lady of the Heaven"[1] The constellation contains M74, a loosely wound spiral galaxy discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1780.[2]

Key facts and history

In 1690, Johannes Hevelius regarded Pisces as composed of four subdivisions: Piscis Boreus, Linum Boreum, Linum Austrinum, and Piscis Austrinus.[3] The Roman version of the myth involves Venus and Cupid being transported to safety on the backs of two fish.[4] As a reward for their actions, the fish were set in the heavens to form a constellation.[5] Admiral Smyth noted this suggestion, but it received little attention from the astronomical community and is no longer recognized.[6]

What the cited sources add

Ian Ridpath's Star Tales notes that Johann Bode's version of Pisces imagined a highly convoluted cord joining the two fish called Linum Piscium.[7] Hevelius drew his constellations as though on a globe, so they are reversed compared to how they appear in the sky.[7] The Ptolemaic constellation Piscis Austrinus was called Piscis Notius by Bode and Hevelius.[7] A type II-P supernova was discovered in M74 by Robert Evans in June 2003, and the progenitor star was identified as a red supergiant with a mass of 8 solar masses.[2]

The IAU Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams lists supernova 2010eb in NGC 488, discovered on 2010 June 12.[8] NGC 488 is a face-on spiral galaxy that is isolated and considered a prototypical example; it has hosted two recorded supernovae.[9]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Pisces (constellation)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Origins of the ancient constellations: I. The Mesopotamian traditions by J. H. Rogers 1998, page 19 page 19 (table 3, rows 2-3) and page 27 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Pisces (constellation)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wilkins, "300 Astronomical Objects: A Visual Reference to the Universe", Firefly Books, 2006; R. B. Tully, "Nearby Galaxies Catalog", Cambridge University Press, 1988; A. Garcia, "General study of group membership. II – Determination of nearby groups", Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement, 1993, p. 47–90; G. Giuricin, "Nearby Optical Galaxies: Selection of the Sample and Identification of Groups", Astrophysical Journal, 2000, p. 178–194 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Pisces (constellation)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hevelius, J., (1690) Firmamentum Sobiescianum, Leipzig, Fig.NN; "Pisces as depicted by Bode and Hevelius", Ian Ridpath’s Star Tales (online edition); Hevelius, J., (1690) Firmamentum Sobiescianum, Leipzig, Fig.NN; Hevelius, J., (1690) Firmamentum Sobiescianum, Leipzig, Fig.NN; Hevelius, J., (1690) Firmamentum Sobiescianum, Leipzig, Fig.NN (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Pisces (constellation)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hard 2015, p. 84–85; Hard 2015, p. 84–85; Publius Ovidius Naso, "Ovid's Fasti: Roman Holidays", Indiana University Press, 1995, p. 69–70, 182 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Pisces (constellation)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rigoglioso, "The Cult of Divine Birth in Ancient Greece", Springer, 2009, p. 248; Ridpath 1988, p. 108; Van Berg, "Corpus Cultus Deae Syriae - Ccds: Les Sources Litteraires - Repertoire Des Sources Grecques Et Latines - Sauf Le De Dea Syria -", Brill Archive, 1972, p. 37–38 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Pisces (constellation)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Smyth, W. H., (1884) The Bedford Catalogue, p. 23; Ciofi, Claudio; Torre, Pietro, Costellazioni Estinte (nate dal 1700 al 1800): Sezione di Ricerca per la Cultura Astronomica (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. "Pisces as depicted by Bode and Hevelius", Ian Ridpath’s Star Tales (online edition). facts only, no text reused. ianridpath.com
  8. List of Supernovae IAU Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. Retrieved 29 December 2015.. facts only, no text reused. cbat.eps.harvard.edu
  9. Wikipedia, "Pisces (constellation)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sil'chenko, O. K., "Chemically decoupled nucleus and the structure of the nuclear region in the spiral galaxy NGC 488", Astronomy Letters, March 1999, p. 140–8; List of Supernovae IAU Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. Retrieved 29 December 2015. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Pisces (constellation) (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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