Gamma Piscium

γ Piscium
Location of γ Piscium (circled)
Observation data
Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0
Constellation Pisces
Right ascension 23h 17m 09.937s
Declination +03° 16 56.25
Apparent magnitude (V) 3.699
Characteristics
Evolutionary stage Horizontal branch
Spectral type G8 III
U−B color index +0.572
B−V color index +0.924
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)−13.6 km/s
Proper motion (μ) RA: 759.268 mas/yr
Dec.: 17.568 mas/yr
Parallax (π)24.1958±0.2967 mas
Distance135 ± 2 ly
(41.3 ± 0.5 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV)0.68±0.08
Details
Mass0.97±0.12 M
Radius11.28±0.10 R
Luminosity62.7±3.3 L
Surface gravity (log g)2.43 ± 0.06 cgs
Temperature4833±62 K
Metallicity [Fe/H]−0.51 dex
Age~12 Gyr
Other designations
Gamma Psc, γ Piscium, γ Psc, 6 Piscium, BD+02°4648, FK5 878, GC 32415, HD 219615, HIP 114971, HR 8852, SAO 128085, PPM 173938, 2MASS J23170996+0316563
Database references
SIMBADdata

Gamma Piscium (γ Piscium) is a star approximately 135 light years away from Earth in the zodiac constellation of Pisces. It is a yellow star with a spectral type of G8 III, meaning it has a surface temperature of 4,833 K and is a giant star. It is slightly cooler than the Sun, yet it is 11 solar radii in size and shines with the light of 63 Suns. The star is a member of the red clump, which means it is undergoing core helium fusion. At an apparent magnitude of 3.7, it is the second brightest star in the constellation Pisces, between Eta and Alpha.

Gamma Piscium moves across the sky at three-quarters of an arcsecond per year, which at 135 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. Gamma Piscium is part of the asterism known as the "circlet of Pisces."