65 Piscium: A Splendid Citrine Binary in Pisces

Best viewed in late autumn, 65 Piscium is a binary star in the constellation Pisces and is 289 light-years away from us. This tight pair is near equal in brightness and yellow color, which makes for a splendid sight.

At just 4.4″ (arc seconds) apart, backyard astronomers may need to play around with various magnifications to see what power best separates the stars in the eyepiece. While this pretty set of stars looks so close together, it’s good to remember they are actually separated by 350 light-years out there in the cosmos.

Splitting binary stars can be an enjoyable challenge and a test of one’s skill and equipment. It’s best to view close binaries like 65 Piscium when the skies are crystal clear and optics are cooled down since heat will create image distortion. If you want another challenge after splitting this double, take a look at a neighboring binary in Pisces, Alpha Piscium also called Arisha.

My Observations

After starting my night in Aries looking at some tight doubles, I’ve moved on to this target, 65 Piscium. My first thought is how pretty it is to see a tight binary with equal brightness. But what makes this pair stand out is their similar buttery color of the stars. Bob King with Sky and Telescope refers to these as an “exquisite pair of citrine-colored gems.” I wholeheartedly agree with this assessment and believe this is the best double in Piscis I’ve seen so far.

Key Stats

Constellation	Pisces
Best Viewing	Winter / Early Spring
Visual Magnitude	+5.5, +6.3
Absolute Visual Magnitude	+0.81
Distance from Earth	289 ly
Separation	4.4″ | 381 AU
Milky Way Location	Orion Spur
My Viewing Grade	B+

Sources and Notes

Banner shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Photo by David Ritter. Details here.

Sketch by Wayne McGraw

AKA: SAO 74296, Struve 61, HD 4758