Alpha Piscium (α Piscium) is 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

equatorial Equatorial may refer to something related to: *Earth's equator **the tropics, the Earth's equatorial region **tropical climate *the Celestial equator ** equatorial orbit **equatorial coordinate system ** equatorial mount, of telescopes * equatorial ...

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 ...

Pisces Pisces may refer to: * Pisces, an obsolete (because of land vertebrates) taxonomic superclass including all fish * Pisces (astrology), an astrological sign * Pisces (constellation), a constellation **Pisces Overdensity, an overdensity of stars in ...

. Based upon

parallax Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines. Due to foreshortening, nearby objects ...

measurements made by the

Hipparcos ''Hipparcos'' was a scientific satellite of the European Space Agency (ESA), launched in 1989 and operated until 1993. It was the first space experiment devoted to precision astrometry, the accurate measurement of the positions of celestial obj ...

spacecraft A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, p ...

, it is about from the

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar S ...

. The two components are designated Alpha Piscium A (officially named Alrescha, the traditional name of the system) and B.

Nomenclature

''α Piscium'' ( Latinised to ''Alpha Piscium'') is the star's

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. ...

. The designations of the two components as ''Alpha Piscium A'' and ''B'' derive from the convention used by the Washington Multiplicity Catalog (WMC) for

multiple star system A star system or stellar system is a small number of stars that orbit each other, bound by gravitational attraction. A large group of stars bound by gravitation is generally called a '' star cluster'' or '' galaxy'', although, broadly speaki ...

s, and adopted by the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...

(IAU). The system bore the traditional name ''Alrescha'' (alternatively ''Al Rescha'', ''Alrischa'', ''Alrisha'') derived from the

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

الرشآء ''al-rishā’'' "the cord" and less commonly ''Kaitain'' and ''Okda'', the latter from the Arabic عقدة ''ʽuqdah'' "knot" (see Ukdah. In 2016, the

organized a

Working Group on Star Names The International Astronomical Union (IAU) established a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) in May 2016 to catalog and standardize proper names for stars for the international astronomical community. It operates under Division C – Education ...

(WGSN) to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN approved the name ''Alrescha'' for the component Alpha Piscium A on 21 August 2016 and it is now so included in the List of IAU-approved Star Names. In

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 '' Outer Fence'', refers to an asterism consisting of Alpha Piscium,

Delta Piscium Delta Piscium (δ Piscium) is a solitary, orange-hued star in the zodiac constellation of Pisces. It has an apparent visual magnitude of +4.4, so it is bright enough to be faintly visible to the naked eye. Based upon an annual parallax ...

Epsilon Piscium Epsilon Piscium (Epsilon Psc, ε Piscium, ε Psc) is the Bayer designation for a star approximately away from the Earth, in the constellation Pisces. It is a yellow-orange star of the G9 III or K0 III spectral t ...

Zeta Piscium Zeta Piscium (ζ Piscium, abbreviated Zet Psc, ζ Psc) is a quintuple star system in the zodiac constellation of Pisces. Based upon parallax measurements obtained during the Hipparcos mission, it is located roughly distant from the S ...

Mu Piscium Mu Piscium (μ Piscium) is a solitary, orange-hued star in the zodiac constellation of Pisces. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.84. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 10.73 mas as se ...

Nu Piscium Nu Piscium (ν Piscium) is an orange-hued binary star system in the zodiac constellation of Pisces. Prior to the formation of the modern constellation boundaries in 1930, it was designated 51 Ceti in the Cetus constellation. Nu Piscium ...

and

Xi Piscium Xi Piscium (ξ Piscium) is an orange-hued binary star system in the zodiac constellation of Pisces. In 1690, the astronomer Johannes Hevelius in his ''Firmamentum Sobiescianum'' regarded the constellation Pisces as being composed ...

. Consequently, the

Chinese name Chinese names or Chinese personal names are names used by individuals from Greater China and other parts of the Chinese-speaking world throughout East and Southeast Asia (ESEA). In addition, many names used in Japan, Korea and Vietnam are often a ...

for Alpha Piscium itself is (, en, the Seventh Star of Outer Fence).

Properties

Alpha Piscium comprises a close binary with

angular separation Angular distance \theta (also known as angular separation, apparent distance, or apparent separation) is the angle between the two sightlines, or between two point objects as viewed from an observer. Angular distance appears in mathematics (in pa ...

of presently 1.8" between the components. The main star or primary (Alpha Piscium A) is of

magnitude Magnitude may refer to: Mathematics *Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction *Magnitude (mathematics), the relative size of an object *Norm (mathematics), a term for the size or length of a vector *Order of ...

+4.33 and

spectral type In astronomy, stellar classification is the classification of stars based on their stellar spectrum, spectral characteristics. Electromagnetic radiation from the star is analyzed by splitting it with a Prism (optics), prism or diffraction grati ...

A0p, while the companion or secondary (Alpha Piscium B) is magnitude 5.23 and belongs to spectral class A3m. The two stars take more than 3,000 years to

orbit In celestial mechanics, an orbit is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an object or position in space such as a p ...

one another and they will make their closest approach to each other around 2060. One or both of the stars may be 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 ...

as well. The stars have masses of 2.55 and 2.64

solar mass The solar mass () is a standard unit of mass in astronomy, equal to approximately . It is often used to indicate the masses of other stars, as well as stellar clusters, nebulae, galaxies and black holes. It is approximately equal to the mass ...

es respectively and shine with a total

luminosity Luminosity is an absolute measure of radiated electromagnetic power (light), the radiant power emitted by a light-emitting object over time. In astronomy, luminosity is the total amount of electromagnetic energy emitted per unit of time by a st ...

of 55 and 63 times that of the Sun. AlphaPscLightCurve

Alpha Piscium is catalogued as an α² Canum Venaticorum variable, a type of

variable star A variable star is a star whose brightness as seen from Earth (its apparent magnitude) changes with time. This variation may be caused by a change in emitted light or by something partly blocking the light, so variable stars are classified as ...

where the brightness changes are caused by the rotation of the star. The brightness varies by about 1/100th of a magnitude, identified from

photometry. The primary component is thought to be the source of the variations, and it has a period of 0.845 days which corresponds to the rotation period of the star. Variations with a period of 6.65 days have also been identified in the variations.

Long-exposure observation

Stars that can set (not in a

circumpolar constellation A circumpolar star is a star that, as viewed from a given latitude on Earth, never sets below the horizon due to its apparent proximity to one of the celestial poles. Circumpolar stars are therefore visible from said location toward the nearest po ...

for the viewer) culminate at midnight – where viewed away from any polar region experiencing

midnight sun The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When the midnight sun is seen in the Arctic, t ...

– when at

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comed ...

, meaning they can be viewed from dusk until dawn. This applies to α Piscium on 21 October, in the current

astronomical epoch In astronomy, an epoch or reference epoch is a moment in time used as a reference point for some time-varying astronomical quantity. It is useful for the celestial coordinates or orbital elements of a celestial body, as they are subject to pert ...

.Ephemera table, rising and setting times
In-the-Sky.org. Dominic C. Ford, 2011–2020; Cambridge UK. Half of the year from this date, 22 April, the star will be at

conjunction Conjunction may refer to: * Conjunction (grammar), a part of speech * Logical conjunction, a mathematical operator ** Conjunction introduction, a rule of inference of propositional logic * Conjunction (astronomy), in which two astronomical bodies ...

above or below, the sun – apart by the star's declination (angle set out in table, right). The nearby days and months have most of the star's risen time during daylight.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alpha Piscium Am stars Alpha2 Canum Venaticorum variables Double stars Pisces (constellation) Alrescha Piscium, Alpha BD+02 0317 Piscium, 113 012446 7 009487 0595 6