Tau Piscium

Tau Piscium
Diagram showing star positions and boundaries of the Pisces constellation and its surroundings


Location of τ Piscium (circled)

Observation data
Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0
Constellation Pisces
Right ascension 01h 11m 39.59s
Declination +30° 05' 23.0"
Apparent magnitude (V) +4.51
Distance162 ly
(50 pc)
Spectral typeK0III-IV...
Other designations
τ Piscium, τ Psc, Tau Psc, 83 Piscium, BD+29°190, FK5 43, GC 1441, HD 7106, HIP 5586, HR 352, PPM 66044, SAO 74546.

Tau Piscium (Tau Psc, τ Piscium, τ Psc) is an orange K-type giant with an apparent magnitude of +4.51. It is approximately 162 light years from Earth.

Tau Piscium is moving through the Galaxy at a speed of 40.5 km/s relative to the Sun. Its projected Galactic orbit carries it between 23,900 and 40,900 light years from the center of the Galaxy.[1]

Tau Piscium came closest to the Sun 1.1 million years ago when it had brightened to magnitude 2.97 from a distance of 83 light years.[1]

Naming

In Chinese, 奎宿 (Kuí Sù), meaning Legs (asterism), refers to an asterism consisting of refers to an asterism consisting of τ Piscium, η Andromedae, 65 Piscium, ζ Andromedae, ε Andromedae, δ Andromedae, π Andromedae, ν Andromedae, μ Andromedae, β Andromedae, σ Piscium, 91 Piscium, υ Piscium, φ Piscium, χ Piscium and ψ¹ Piscium. Consequently, τ Piscium itself is known as 奎宿十一 (Kuí Sù shíyī, English: the Eleventh Star of Legs.)[2]

References

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