Pi Andromedae (Pi And, π Andromedae, π And) is the

Bayer designation A Bayer designation is a stellar designation in which a specific star is identified by a Greek or Latin letter followed by the genitive form of its parent constellation's Latin name. The original list of Bayer designations contained 1,564 stars. ...

for a

binary star A binary star is a system of two stars that are gravitationally bound to and in orbit around each other. Binary stars in the night sky that are seen as a single object to the naked eye are often resolved using a telescope as separate stars, in wh ...

system in the northern

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the e ...

of Andromeda. With an apparent visual magnitude of 4.4, it is visible to the naked eye. It is located approximately from

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

. The pair is classified as a blue-white B-type main sequence dwarf, with an

apparent magnitude Apparent magnitude () is a measure of the brightness of a star or other astronomical object observed from Earth. An object's apparent magnitude depends on its intrinsic luminosity, its distance from Earth, and any extinction of the object's li ...

of +4.34. It is a

spectroscopic binary A binary star is a system of two star, stars that are gravity, gravitationally bound to and in orbit around each other. Binary stars in the night sky that are seen as a single object to the naked eye are often resolved using a telescope as separa ...

with an orbital period of 143.6 days and an eccentricity of 0.56. The spectroscopic binary forms a triple system with ''BD+32 102'', a magnitude 8.6 star located 35.9

arcsecond A minute of arc, arcminute (arcmin), arc minute, or minute arc, denoted by the symbol , is a unit of angular measurement equal to of one degree. Since one degree is of a turn (or complete rotation), one minute of arc is of a turn. The na ...

s away. At 55

s separation is an 11th magnitude companion that is just located on the same line of sight, but at a very different distance from us.

Naming

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

, (), meaning ''

Legs A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical structure, usually having a columnar shape. During locomotion, legs function as "extensible struts". The combination of movements at all joints can be modeled as a single, linear element ...

(asterism)'', refers to an asterism consisting of π Andromedae,

η Andromedae Eta Andromedae (Eta And, η Andromedae, η And) is a spectroscopic binary star in the constellation of Andromeda. It consists of two G-type subgiant or giant stars orbiting each other with a period of 115.7 days an ...

, 65 Piscium, ζ Andromedae, ε Andromedae, δ Andromedae,

ν Andromedae Nu Andromedae (Nu And, ν Andromedae, ν And) is a binary star in the constellation Andromeda. The system has an apparent visual magnitude of 4.5, which is bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. It is approximately ...

, μ Andromedae, β Andromedae,

σ Piscium Sigma Piscium (Sigma Psc, σ Piscium, σ Psc) is a main-sequence star in the zodiac constellation of Pisces. It has an apparent magnitude of +5.50, meaning it is barely visible to the naked eye, according to the Bortle ...

, τ Piscium,

91 Piscium This is the list of notable stars in the constellation Pisces, sorted by decreasing brightness. See also *List of stars by constellation References * * * * * {{Stars of Pisces *List Pisces Pisces may refer to: * Pisces, an obsolete (beca ...

, υ Piscium,

φ Piscium Phi Piscium, Latinized from φ Piscium, is a quadruple star system approximately 380 light years away in the constellation Pisces. It consists of Phi Piscium A, with a spectral type of K0III, and Phi Piscium B. Phi Piscium A posses ...

, χ Piscium and ψ¹ Piscium. Consequently, the Chinese name for π Andromedae itself is (, en, the Sixth Star of Legs.)AEEA (Activities of Exhibition and Education in Astronomy) 天文教育資訊網 2006 年 5 月 19 日
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References

External links

Image Pi Andromedae
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pi Andromedae 003369 Andromedae, Pi Andromedae, 29 Andromeda (constellation) B-type main-sequence stars Spectroscopic binaries 002912 0154 BD+32 0101