Torcular is an orange giant in Pisces, a faint star of the fishes’ cord whose name comes from the Latin word for a wine or oil press.
At a glance
| type | orange giant (class K) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 279 light-years (85.7 pc) |
| its light left it | 279 years ago |
| luminosity | 160 × the Sun |
| radius | 15.9 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 5,150 K |
| constellation | Pisces (Fishes) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Torcular
Torcular is a class K giant, cooler than the Sun and swollen to many times its width as it ages. It shines more strongly than the Sun because of its size, but its distance leaves it a faint naked-eye star.
The name is Latin for a press, the kind used for grapes or olives, a name that entered the star lists through the medieval Latin tradition. Like most of Pisces, it is a star for a dark sky away from city lights.
What you see in the piece
Pisces is a figure of faint stars, and in the piece Torcular is a dim orange point that disappears quickly once you fly away from Earth.
Questions
What does Torcular mean?
Torcular is the Latin word for a press, such as a wine press.