The Pisces Dwarf, also known as Pisces I, is an irregular dwarf galaxy that is part of the Local Group. The galaxy, taking its name from the

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the e ...

Pisces Pisces may refer to: * Pisces, an obsolete (because of land vertebrates) taxonomic superclass including all fish * Pisces (astrology), an astrological sign * Pisces (constellation), a constellation **Pisces Overdensity, an overdensity of stars in ...

where it appears, is suspected of being a

satellite galaxy A satellite galaxy is a smaller companion galaxy that travels on bound orbits within the gravitational potential of a more massive and luminous host galaxy (also known as the primary galaxy). Satellite galaxies and their constituents are bound ...

of the Triangulum Galaxy (M33). It displays a blueshift, as it is approaching the Milky Way at 287 km/s. It may be transition-type galaxy, somewhere between dwarf spheroidal and

dwarf irregular An irregular galaxy is a galaxy that does not have a distinct regular shape, unlike a spiral or an elliptical galaxy. Irregular galaxies do not fall into any of the regular classes of the Hubble sequence, and they are often chaotic in appearance, ...

. Alternatively, it may be a rare, but statistically acceptable, version of one of the two types.

History

It was discovered by Valentina Karachentseva in 1976.

Star formation history

Apparently, the star formation rate in the Pisces Dwarf has been declining for the past 10 billion years. Most of the galaxy's stars were formed in its early years, about 8 billion years ago. The study has also shown that there has been no significant star formation for the past 100 million years. Hence, most of the stars that populate this galaxy are old, metal-rich stars aged about 2.5 billion years. However, there are small clusters of young, hot, blue stars on the outer areas of the galaxy.

References

External links

* {{Triangulum Galaxy Dwarf irregular galaxies Dwarf spheroidal galaxies Peculiar galaxies Local Group Triangulum Subgroup Pisces (constellation) 03792 ?