Pisces Constellation Astronomy
There was a time when astronomy, and in fact all science, was a mixture of strange ideas and even superstition along with any real provable ideas. But magic practitioners gave way to men who asked harder questions, and demanded more precise answers. This included men like Isaac Newton who realized our sun was a star like any other, and even Ptolemy who way back in 100AD realized our Earth was part of a planetary system. Astronomy includes the entire universe as its subject – that’s incredibly huge. So a choice has to be made to zero in on a smaller sub-set of astronomy. For our purposes, let’s focus on Pisces constellation astronomy.
As large as the universe is, isn’t a constellation too specialized a subject? A constellation isn’t just some figure in the night sky. There’s a lot of space stuff contained within each constellation. While we can’t see many stars in Pisces, we do see a very interesting galaxy. Galaxy NGC629, or M74, is a spiral galaxy like our own Milky Way, and we can see its facing side. To us it’s like an octopus reaching into space in all directions. It looks like a spiral to observers from Earth, in other words. Not with the naked eye, of course. And through most amateur telescopes it would appear as little more than a blurry spot. However, the spiral details come to life with a professional telescope.
Another unique feature of Pisces is that an important part of the Sun’s path passes through Pisces today, where it did not when the constellations were first mapped. Pisces (Aries specifically) sees the sun pass through it, over the equator, as it makes its way north. This happens at the Vernal Equinox, the first day of spring for the Northern hemisphere of the planet. When Pisces was first established the 1st point of Aries was not within it. But it has moved into Pisces over time. This is an example precession, the movement of stars and objects in relation to Earth. It happens, of course, because none of these objects are stationary, and neither is the Earth. Even our sun and the galaxy that contains it travel quite quickly. The sun and solar system, for example, move at about 220 kilometers per second around the center of the galaxy. That’s about 1/250th of the way around in all of recorded history. The galaxy too, as well as everything in the universe, also moves at a breakneck pace. Constellations are always shifting and in flux. Aries and Pisces show this well.
It may not be as wide as the universe, but Pisces constellation astronomy has enough to keep anyone interested for a long time.
Tagged with: Amateur Telescopes • Constellations • Equator • First Day Of Spring • Galaxy Galaxy • Isaac Newton • M74 • Milky Way • Naked Eye • Night Sky • Northern Hemisphere • Pisces Constellation • Planetary System • Precise Answers • Professional Telescope • Ptolemy • Spiral Galaxy • Strange Ideas • Sun Pass • Vernal Equinox
Filed under: La Mesa Medical
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