Beta Piscium

Beta Piscium

Location of β Piscium(circled)

Observation data Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0
Constellation	Pisces
Right ascension	23^h 03^m 52.6^s
Declination	+03° 49' 12"
Apparent magnitude (V)	+4.53
Distance	492 ly (151 pc)
Spectral type	B6Ve
Other designations
Fum al Samakah, β Piscium, β Psc, Beta Psc, 4 Psc, BD+03 4818, FK5 1602, GC 32134, HD 217891, HIP 113889, HR 8773, PPM 173700, SAO 127934

Beta Piscium (Beta Psc, β Piscium, β Psc) is a star in the constellation Pisces. It has the traditional name Fum al Samakah.

Beta Piscium belongs to the spectral class B6Ve and is of magnitude +4.53m. It is approximately 492 light-years from the Sun.

Name and etymology

• The name Fum al Samakah was from the Arabic فم السمكة fum al-samakah "mouth of the fish" (compare Fomalhaut).^[1][2]
• In Chinese, 霹靂 (Pī Lì), meaning Thunderbolt, refers to an asterism consisting of refers to an asterism consisting of β Piscium, γ Piscium, θ Piscium, ι Piscium and ω Piscium. Consequently, β Piscium itself is known as 霹靂一 (Pī Lì yī, English: the First Star of Thunderbolt.)^[3]

References

1. HD-DM-GC-HR-HIP-Bayer-Flamsteed Cross Index, Kostjuk 2002, refer to table3.dat
2. Richard Hinckley Allen: Star Names — Their Lore and Meaning: Pisces, the Fishes
3. (Chinese) AEEA (Activities of Exhibition and Education in Astronomy) 天文教育資訊網 2006 年 7 月 8 日