RZ Piscium
A dusty variable star possibly consuming its own planets.
RZ Piscium is a UX Orionis type variable star located 608 light-years away in the constellation Pisces. It is notable for erratic brightening and dimming, occasionally losing up to a tenth of its usual luminosity. The star emits substantial infrared radiation, likely from gas and dust orbiting it, possibly originating from a disrupted planet.
Quick Facts
- Distance
- 608 ly
- Spectral type
- UX Orionis type variable
- Temperature
- 5330 C
- Age estimate
- 30 to 50 million years
- Companion mass
- 0.12 Solar mass
- Companion projected separation
- 23 AU
Facts from the source article.
Observations
In 2017, RZ Piscium was studied with the XMM-Newton satellite, the Shane 3-meter telescope at Lick Observatory, and the 10-meter Keck I telescope at W. M. Keck Observatory. Its temperature was found to be about 5330 C, similar to the Sun, but it emits roughly a thousand times more X-rays, indicating a relatively young star. However, its low surface lithium content suggests an age of 30 to 50 million years, which is somewhat old for a star with so much circumstellar dust. While most young dusty stars may be forming planets, RZ Piscium at this age may be destroying and consuming its planets instead. A red dwarf companion of 0.12 solar mass was detected in 2020 at a projected separation of 23 AU, contributing about one third of the excess infrared emission previously attributed to dust. Observations with TESS detected 24 transits by exocomets, with absorption depths between 1 and 20 percent. This system has the second known large comet population after Beta Pictoris, with a transit rate of 0.40 exocomets per day, about double that of Beta Pictoris. The exocomets are estimated to be 1 to 7 kilometers in size.
More in Stars of Pisces
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced