 | ||
Kappa Piscium (Kappa Psc, κ Piscium, κ Psc) is a multiple star approximately 162 light years away from Earth, in the constellation Pisces. Appearing as a single point in the sky, it is easily split when viewed with a pair of binoculars, and consists of three components. One star has an apparent magnitude of 4.87 at maximum brightness and 4.95 at minimum brightness, while the other has an apparent magnitude of 11.9.
The brighter component is a variable star, meaning its brightness fluctuates by a magnitude of 0.01 to 0.1. Specifically, it is an Alpha² Canum Venaticorum variable, a star with strong magnetic fields and strong silicon, strontium, and chromium spectral lines. It also shows many lines of uranium, and possibly the rare element holmium. Its uranium and osmium content could have been caused by a nearby supernova. It is deficient in oxygen relative to magnesium.
The star rotates approximately once every 48 hours at a velocity of about 41 km/s. As it is a class A star, it possesses a surface temperature between 7,500 and 11,000 kelvins.
Naming
In Chinese, 雲雨 (Yún Yǔ), meaning Cloud and Rain, refers to an asterism consisting of refers to an asterism consisting of κ Piscium, 12 Piscium, 21 Piscium and λ Piscium. Consequently, κ Piscium itself is known as 雲雨一 (Yún Yǔ yī, English: the First Star of Cloud and Rain.)