Gamma Piscium

Gamma Piscium[1]
Diagram showing star positions and boundaries of the Pisces constellation and its surroundings


Location of γ Piscium(circled)

Observation data
Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0
Constellation Pisces
Right ascension 23h 17m 09.93749s[2]
Declination +03° 16 56.2380[2]
Apparent magnitude (V) 3.699[3]
Characteristics
Spectral type G9 III:[1]
U−B color index +0.572 [3]
B−V color index +0.924[3]
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)-13.6[4] km/s
Proper motion (μ) RA: 759.82[2] mas/yr
Dec.: 17.77[2] mas/yr
Parallax (π)23.64 ± 0.18[2] mas
Distance138 ± 1 ly
(42.3 ± 0.3 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV)0.68 ± 0.08[5]
Details
Mass1.03 ± 0.17[5] M
Radius9.92 ± 0.42[5] R
Surface gravity (log g)2.43 ± 0.06[5] cgs
Temperature4,885[5] K
Metallicity [Fe/H]−0.51[5] dex
Age5.46 ± 2.50[5] Gyr
Other designations
γ Piscium, γ Psc, Gamma Psc, 6 Piscium, BD+02°4648, FK5 878, GC 32415, HD 219615, HIP 114971, HR 8852, PPM 173938, SAO 128085, GC 32415.[1]

Gamma Piscium (Gamma Psc, γ Piscium, γ Psc) is a star approximately 138 light years away from Earth,[6] in the zodiac constellation of Pisces. It is a yellow star with a spectral type of G9 III, meaning it has a surface temperature of 4,885 K and is a giant star. It is slightly cooler than the Sun, yet it is 10[5] solar radii in size and shines with the light of 61 Suns.[7] At an apparent magnitude of 3.7,[3] it is the second brightest star in the constellation Pisces, between Eta and Alpha. Once a white A2 star, it is 5.5 billion years old.

Gamma Piscium moves across the sky at three-quarters of an arcsecond per year, which at 138 light years corresponds to 153 kilometers per second. This suggests it is a visitor from another part of the Milky Way Galaxy; in astronomical terms, it will quickly leave the vicinity of the Sun. Its metallicity is only one-fourth that of the Sun, and visitors from outside the thin disk that composes the Milky Way tend to be metal-poor. It also has a low carbon-nitrogen content.[7] Gamma Piscium lies inside an asterism known as the "circlet of Pisces."[8]

Naming

In Chinese, 霹靂 (Pī Lì), meaning Thunderbolt, refers to an asterism consisting of refers to an asterism consisting of γ Piscium, β Piscium, θ Piscium, ι Piscium and ω Piscium. Consequently, γ Piscium itself is known as 霹靂二 (Pī Lì èr, English: the Second Star of Thunderbolt.)[9]

In fiction

In Frank Herbert's Dune series, Gamma Waiping (The Chinese name for Pisces) is the home system of Imperial House Corrino.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Simbad Query Result", Simbad, retrieved September 30, 2007
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 van Leeuwen, F. (November 2007), "Validation of the new Hipparcos reduction", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 474 (2): 653–664, arXiv:0708.1752Freely accessible, Bibcode:2007A&A...474..653V, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20078357
  3. 1 2 3 4 Cousins, A. W. J. (1984), "Standardization of Broadband Photometry of Equatorial Standards", South African Astronomical Observatory Circulars, 8: 59, Bibcode:1984SAAOC...8...59C
  4. Wielen, R.; et al. (1999), Sixth Catalogue of Fundamental Stars (FK6). Part I. Basic fundamental stars with direct solutions (35), Astronomisches Rechen-Institut Heidelberg, Bibcode:1999VeARI..35....1W
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 da Silva, L.; et al. (November 2006), "Basic physical parameters of a selected sample of evolved stars", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 458 (2): 609–623, arXiv:astro-ph/0608160Freely accessible, Bibcode:2006A&A...458..609D, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20065105
  6. van Leeuwen, F. (2007), "HIP 114971", Hipparcos, the New Reduction, retrieved 2010-08-30
  7. 1 2 "Gamma Psc". Retrieved September 30, 2007.
  8. "SPACE.com -- SpaceWatch -- Pisces Rising". Retrieved September 30, 2007.
  9. (Chinese) AEEA (Activities of Exhibition and Education in Astronomy) 天文教育資訊網 2006 年 7 月 8 日
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