Magnitude 4.51 Apparent magnitude (V) 4.51 | Constellation Pisces | |
 | ||
People also search for Phi Piscium, Chi Piscium, Upsilon Piscium | ||
Tau Piscium (Tau Psc, τ Piscium, τ Psc) is an orange K-type giant with an apparent magnitude of +4.51. It is approximately 162 light years from Earth.
Tau Piscium is moving through the Galaxy at a speed of 40.5 km/s relative to the Sun. Its projected Galactic orbit carries it between 23,900 and 40,900 light years from the center of the Galaxy.
Tau Piscium came closest to the Sun 1.1 million years ago when it had brightened to magnitude 2.97 from a distance of 83 light years.
Naming
In Chinese, 奎宿 (Kuí Sù), meaning Legs (asterism), refers to an asterism consisting of refers to an asterism consisting of τ Piscium, η Andromedae, 65 Piscium, ζ Andromedae, ε Andromedae, δ Andromedae, π Andromedae, ν Andromedae, μ Andromedae, β Andromedae, σ Piscium, 91 Piscium, υ Piscium, φ Piscium, χ Piscium and ψ¹ Piscium. Consequently, τ Piscium itself is known as 奎宿十一 (Kuí Sù shíyī, English: the Eleventh Star of Legs.)