Mind Visualization

Astronomy hasn’t always been a science, it was at one time more closely connected to astrology than it currently is. But stalwart men of science continued to look up into the night sky and consider the universe beyond the world upon which they stood. 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. The universe is infinite, which means astronomy is infinite. Therefore it becomes necessary to specialize in one small part of astronomy. This article will zero in 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. Pisces is the home of one of the most interesting galaxies we can see. M74, also known as galaxy NGC 628, is a face on spiral galaxy. We see all of it’s arms extending out from its center. That means we can tell it’s a spiral. That doesn’t mean we can view it unaided. And through most amateur telescopes it would appear as little more than a blurry spot. But with a telescope of 12 inches aperture or more the spiral details will be visible.

When Pisces was first seen the sun didn’t take the same important path through it that it now takes. The first point of Aries is the point where the sun crosses the equator on 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. It has, however, drifted into Pisces over the long centuries. This movement of space objects in relation to Earth perspective is called precession. All the objects in the universe, including our home planet, move. Our sun and its home, the Milky Way galaxy move rapidly through the universe. For instance our sun and solar system move at about 220 kilometers per second around the center of the Milky Way. In all of human history, the solar system has moved 1/1250th of a complete revolution. The entire galaxy is also on the go. So the constellations are always moving and changing. The movement of Aries relative to Pisces reminds us of this fact.

It may not be as wide as the universe, but Pisces constellation astronomy has enough to keep anyone interested for a long time.

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