One of the 12 new constellations introduced
at the end of the 16th century by the Dutch navigators Pieter
Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman. Volans represents a
real type of fish found in tropical waters that can leap out of
the water and glide through the air on wings. Sometimes the
fish landed on the decks of ships and were used for food. The
constellation was first depicted in 1598 on a globe by the
Dutchman Petrus Plancius under the name Vliegendenvis. Bayer in
1603 called it Piscis Volans, the title by which it became
generally known. Its brightest stars are of only fourth
magnitude, none are named, and there are no legends associated
with it.
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Volans, under its original name Piscis Volans, shown leaping against the side of the ship Argo in the Uranographia of Johann Bode.
© Ian Ridpath. All rights reserved
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