Tau Piscium

Tau Piscium

Location of τ Piscium (circled)

Observation data Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0
Constellation	Pisces
Right ascension	01^h 11^m 39.59^s
Declination	+30° 05' 23.0"
Apparent magnitude (V)	+4.51
Distance	162 ly (50 pc)
Spectral type	K0III-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

1. Tau Piscium (HIP 5586)
2. (Chinese) AEEA (Activities of Exhibition and Education in Astronomy) 天文教育資訊網 2006 年 5 月 19 日