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The Circlet

Circlet of Pisces, Ring of Pisces

GenitivePiscium
AbbreviationPsc
Right Ascension23h18 to 23h47
Declination+1° 21' to +6° 28'
Area (sq deg)37
Brightest StarYunyu
Optimum VisibilitySeptember / October
NotesThis rough circle of stars some 5° across represents one of the two fish of the constellation Pisces. It currently falls directly to the northwest of the First Point of Aries in the sky.
Map of the Circlet in Pisces Map of the Circlet in Pisces

The constellation of Pisces represents a pair of fishes connected by a cord, and the western fish is formed by a rough oval of seven stars leading off towards Fumalsamakah, the westernmost major star of Pisces. This ring of seven stars is also sometimes called the Circlet due to its distinctive shape.

The seven stars that make up the Circlet are (clockwise from the north) Theta, b, Gamma (named Yunyu), Kappa, Lambda, 19 and Iota Piscium (Puwuh Atarung). None of these are notably bright, and indeed b and 19 Piscium are so faint that they are only on the verge of naked-eye visibility. The brightest of the whole group is the westernmost, Yunyu or Gamma Piscium, is a yellow star with an apparent magnitude of +3.7.

Imagery provided by Aladin sky atlas

As with most asterisms and constellations, the stars of the Circlet are not physically connected, though several of them occupy a region of space about 150 light years from the Solar System. Others are closer (the closest, Puwuh Atarung, is approximately 45 light years from the Sun) while others are much more distant (19 Piscium is some 900 light years from the Solar System).

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