Π_Ceti
Pi Ceti
Spectroscopic binary star system in the constellation Cetus
Pi Ceti, Latinized from π Ceti, is the Bayer designation for a star system in the equatorial constellation of Cetus. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.238.[2] Observed to have an Earth half yearly parallax shift of 8.30 mas,[1] it is around 393 light years from the Sun.
This is a single-lined spectroscopic binary system with a nearly circular orbit and a period of 7.45 years. The fact that the system has a negligible eccentricity is surprising for such a long period, and may suggest that the secondary is a white dwarf that had its orbit circularized during a mass-transfer event.[6]
The primary, component A, is a normal B-type star[7] that has been given stellar classifications of B7 V[3] and B7 IV.[4] It appears very young – less than half a million years in age – and may still be on a pre-main sequence track. The star shows no magnetic field but it does emit an infrared excess.[7]