Constellation, Fishes
Pisces
Two fish of the zodiac, their tails tied together by a long cord of stars. The point where the Sun crosses the equator each March now lies within it.
From New York on October 13, 2026, the centre of Pisces rises at 5:31 PM, is highest at 12:01 AM (57° above the horizon in the S) and sets at 6:31 AM.
In the 3D sky
The sky over New York turned towards Pisces. Drag to look around.
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Evening visibility over the year
Height of the constellation’s centre above the horizon at 10 pm local time on the 15th of each month, from New York. Above about 30° it is well placed.
Name and history
The Greek stories about Pisces are set by the river Euphrates, a strong sign that the figure came from Babylon. In one version, the monster Typhon attacked the gods. The goddess Aphrodite and her son Eros fled into the river, and two fish carried them to safety on their backs. In another version the pair turned into fish themselves. Hyginus told a different tale, in which two fish rolled an egg from the Euphrates to the shore, and Aphrodite hatched from it. Eratosthenes said the two fish were the young of the large fish in Piscis Austrinus. Ptolemy called the constellation Ichthyes, Greek for fishes.
One fish swims north and the other west, and a chain of faint stars joins their tails. The Greeks never explained this cord. According to the historian Paul Kunitzsch, the Babylonians already pictured two fish joined by a cord here. Alpha Piscium, Alrescha, comes from Arabic for ‘the cord’ and marks the knot. In Greek times the March equinox lay in Aries, but precession has since carried it into Pisces.
Sources: Ian Ridpath, Star Tales: Pisces
Brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpherg | η Psc | 3.62 | 350 light-years |
| γ Psc | γ Psc | 3.70 | 138 light-years |
| Alrescha | α Psc | 3.82 | 151 light-years |
| ω Psc | ω Psc | 4.03 | 104 light-years |
| ι Psc | ι Psc | 4.13 | 45 light-years |
| Torcular | ο Psc | 4.26 | 280 light-years |
| ε Psc | ε Psc | 4.27 | 182 light-years |
| θ Psc | θ Psc | 4.27 | 149 light-years |
| 30 Psc | 30 Psc | 4.37 | 432 light-years |
| δ Psc | δ Psc | 4.44 | 311 light-years |
Facts
| Area | about 888 square degrees (14 of 88) |
|---|---|
| IAU abbreviation | Psc |
| Sky | Near the celestial equator, visible from both hemispheres |
| Origin | Listed in Ptolemy’s Almagest, about AD 150, as Ichthyes, the fishes |
| Stars brighter than magnitude 5 | 23 |
| Centre (J2000) | 0.6 h, 8° |
Deep-sky objects
Galaxies, clusters and nebulae brighter than magnitude 9, from the OpenNGC catalogue. Most need binoculars or a telescope and a dark sky.
No deep-sky object brighter than magnitude 9.
Boundaries: International Astronomical Union, via Astronomy Engine. Areas are computed from the boundaries by sampling (within about one percent). Names and lines: Stellarium. Stars: HYG Database. Deep-sky objects: OpenNGC. Calculated with Astronomy Engine, an open-source library verified against the US Naval Observatory and NASA JPL. Data sources
How to use this page
Choose your place and a night at the top. The answer and the 3D view show where the constellation is, when it is highest and whether it rises at all from where you are. The chart shows its stars and lines, and the tables list its brightest stars and the deep-sky objects inside it.
Frequently asked questions
When is a constellation best seen?
When it is highest in a dark sky, which the page gives for the night you pick. Each constellation is best placed in a particular season, because the stars rise about four minutes earlier every night.
Why can I not see a constellation from my place?
Constellations far south of the celestial equator never rise from northern places, and those far north never rise from southern ones. The page says when this is the case.
What are the constellation boundaries?
The International Astronomical Union divides the sky into 88 areas with official boundaries. The stick figures are only a drawing aid, the boundaries say which constellation a point in the sky belongs to.
Related guides
- How to learn the constellationsStart with one bright pattern you cannot miss, use it as a signpost to its neighbours, and come back a month later: the sky will have turned, and you will know a little more of it.
- Altitude and azimuth: finding things in the skyTwo angles tell you exactly where to look: which direction, and how high.
- Light pollution and dark skies: the Bortle scaleFrom a city centre you can count a few dozen stars. From a truly dark site you can count a few thousand, with the Milky Way bright enough to cast a shadow. The Bortle scale puts a number on the difference.
- Binoculars for stargazing: what to buy and what to look atA pair of 7x50 or 10x50 binoculars shows the craters of the Moon, the moons of Jupiter, dozens of star clusters and the Andromeda Galaxy, for a fraction of the cost of a telescope.