Piscis Austrinus constellation lies in the southern sky. Its name means “the southern fish” in Latin.
The constellation is sometimes also called Piscis Australis. It was first catalogued by Ptolemy in the 2nd century, but its history dates back to Babylonian times. Until the 20th century, it went by the name Piscis Notius. In the late 16th century, the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius separated some of the stars to form a new constellation, Grus.
Piscis Austrinus is a relatively small and faint constellation, with only one star brighter than fourth magnitude and not many notable deep sky objects. The brightest star in the constellation, Fomalhaut, is also one of the brightest stars in the night sky.
FACTS, LOCATION & MAP
Piscis Austrinus is the 60th constellation in size, occupying an area of 245 square degrees. It is located in the fourth quadrant of the southern hemisphere (SQ4) and can be seen at latitudes between +55° and -90°. The neighboring constellations are Aquarius, Capricornus, Grus, Microscopium and Sculptor.
Piscis Austrinus belongs to the Heavenly Waters family of constellations, along with Carina, Columba, Delphinus, Equuleus, Eridanus, Puppis, Pyxis, and Vela.
Piscis Austrinus contains three stars with confirmed planets and does not have any Messier objects. The brightest star in the constellation is Fomalhaut, Alpha Piscis Austrini, with an apparent magnitude of 1.16. There are no meteor showers associated with the constellation.
MYTH
Piscis Austrinus is one of the 48 Greek constellations, listed by the astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. It used to contain the stars that now belong to Grus constellation.
The constellation has its origins in Babylonian culture, where it was known as the Fish, or MUL.KU. It was associated with the myth about the Syrian fertility goddess Atargatis, who fell into a lake near the river Euphrates in what is today northern Syria, and was rescued by a large fish. The goddess would later punish all those who ate fish, but her priests were allowed to eat it every day.
In a different version of the story, she deliberately threw herself into the lake, attempting to commit suicide after having an affair with a man and bearing his child. In this version, she killed the man and abandoned her daughter, and was turned into a mermaid in the lake. Her daughter was brought up by doves and grew up to be Semiramis, the Assyrian queen.
The Greeks knew the constellation as the Great Fish and depicted it as swallowing the water poured by Aquarius, the water bearer. The two fish represented by Pisces constellation were said to be the offspring of the Great Fish.
In Greek mythology, there is a similar tale associated with Pisces. In the tale, the goddess Aphrodite took the form of a fish to hide from the monster Typhon. She and her son Eros and leapt into the river Euphrates and begged the river nymphs for help. Two fish bore them up and the goddess later honoured them by transforming them into the constellation Pisces.
Egyptians also associated the constellation with a fish, one that saved the life of the goddess Isis. To honour the fish, she placed it into the sky as a constellation, and did the same with its offspring.
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