Zeta Piscium
Quintuple star system in Pisces with a named primary component.
Zeta Piscium (ζ Piscium) is a quintuple star system in the zodiac constellation of Pisces, located roughly 170 light-years from the Sun. It consists of a binary star (Zeta Piscium A) and a triple star system (BC). The system lies 0.21° south of the ecliptic, allowing it to be occulted by the Moon and eclipsed by the Sun from about 8–10 April.
Quick Facts
- Bayer designation
- ζ Piscium
- Distance from sun
- roughly 170 ly
- Apparent magnitude (system)
- +4.9
- Number of components
- 5
Facts from the source article.
Nomenclature
The star system known as Zeta Piscium carries the Bayer designation ζ Piscium. Its three main components are labeled Zeta Piscium A, B, and C, with the subcomponents Aa, Ab, Ba, and Bb following the Washington Multiplicity Catalog convention adopted by the International Astronomical Union. This system is also linked to Revati, a lunar mansion in Indian astronomy. In 2016, the IAU established a Working Group on Star Names to standardize proper star names. On 30 June 2017, the group approved the name Revati specifically for Zeta Piscium A, and it now appears on the official list of IAU-approved star names. When no component letter is given, the name is understood to refer to the visually brightest component, which in this case is Aa. In Chinese astronomy, Zeta Piscium belongs to an asterism that also includes Delta, Epsilon, Mu, Nu, Xi, and Alpha Piscium.
Properties
Zeta Piscium A is a pair of A-type subgiant stars with an angular separation of 0.15 arcseconds and a visual magnitude of 5.28. Zeta Piscium B is a spectroscopic binary with a period of 9.075 days and an eccentricity of 0.04; its components Ba and Bb are an F-type main sequence star and a G-type main sequence star, respectively, with a combined visual magnitude of 6.43. Zeta Piscium C is a magnitude 12.2 star at an angular separation of 1.0 arcseconds from component B.
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