Xi Piscium
 Location of ξ Piscium(circled) |
|
| Observation data Epoch J2000.0 Equinox J2000.0 |
|
|---|---|
| Constellation | Pisces |
| Right ascension | 01h 53m 33.351s |
| Declination | +03° 11′ 15.15″ |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 4.61 |
| Characteristics | |
| Spectral type | K0III SB |
| Astrometry | |
| Proper motion (μ) |
RA: 24.48 ± 0.96 mas/yr Dec.: 25.99 ± 0.59 mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 18.21 ± 0.78mas |
| Distance | 179 ± 8 ly (55 ± 2 pc) |
| Other designations | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
Xi Piscium (Xi Psc, ξ Piscium, ξ Psc) is a spectroscopic binary star system in the constellation of Pisces, with an apparent magnitude of +4.61. The primary component is an orange K-type giant. It is approximately 179 light years from Earth.
In 1690, the astronomer Johannes Hevelius in his Firmamentum Sobiescianum regarded the constellation Pisces as being composed of four subdivisions. Xi Piscium was considered to be part of the Linum Austrinum, the South Cord.
The spectroscopic binary nature of this star was discovered in 1901 by William Wallace Campbell using the Mills spectrograph at the Lick Observatory.
Xi Piscium is moving through the Galaxy at a speed of 30.7 km/s relative to the Sun. Its projected Galactic orbit carries it between 24,100 and 39,700 light years from the center of the Galaxy.
Xi Piscium came closest to the Sun 1.8 million years ago when it had brightened to magnitude 1.77 from a distance of 51 light years.
In Chinese astronomy, the "Outer Fence" (Chinese: 外屏; pinyin: Wài Píng) refers to an asterism consisting of ξ Piscium, δ Piscium, ε Piscium, ζ Piscium, μ Piscium, ν Piscium and α Piscium. Consequently, ξ Piscium itself is known as the "Sixth Star of the Outer Fence" (Chinese: 外屏六; pinyin: Wài Píng liù)
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