Orange giant · Pisces

Torcular

Also known as: ο Piscium (ο Psc), HIP 8198

mag 4.3280 light-years

About

Torcular (ο Piscium) is an orange giant of magnitude 4.3 in Pisces, about 280 light-years away.

Torcular is in the constellation Pisces.
Best evenings: around early December it is highest at about 9 pm (10 pm in summer time); a month earlier, two hours later.
Where on Earth: it is seen well, at least 10° up, from north of 71° S.

When it rises and sets tonight, how high it climbs and how much the Moon gets in the way are worked out in your browser for your place.

EyesVisible from the suburbs on a clear night, but lost in bright city skies.
Binoculars (10×50)A sharp point; binoculars bring out its colour and the fainter stars around it.
Telescope (6–8 inch)Still a point of light at any magnification — stars are too far away to show a disc. Low in the sky, bright stars twinkle and flash colours.

Stars look the same in any instrument: brighter and sharper, but never bigger.

Proper name	Torcular
Designation	ο Piscium (ο Psc)
Hipparcos number	HIP 8198
Type	Orange giant
Spectral type	K0III
Colour	Pale orangeB−V colour index 0.94
Magnitude	4.3The smaller the number, the brighter.
Distance	280 light-yearsThe light you see left it around 1750.
Proper motion	0.081″ per year across the sky
Constellation	Pisces
Right ascension (J2000)	01h 45m 23.6s
Declination (J2000)	+09° 09′ 28″