TV Pictoris is a rotating ellipsoidal variable star in the constellation Pictor. It ranges between apparent magnitude 7.37 - 7.53 over a period of 0.85 days. It was first discovered to be variable in 1987.[1] The system is inclined at an angle of 54 degrees to observers on Earth. It is composed of a primary star that has a radius 4.3 times that of the sun and 1.2 times its mass, and an effective (surface) temperature of 8300 K, and a secondary star with a radius 2.1 times that of the sun and 40% of its mass, and an effective temperature of 7000 K. Both stars are less massive than expected for a main sequence star of their temperatures. The secondary rotates much faster than the primary.[2]
The system shines with a combined spectrum of A2V. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 5.14 milliarc seconds as measured by the Hipparcos satellite,[3] this system is 195pc from Earth. Analysing and recalibrating yields a parallax of 4.70 and hence a distance of 213pc.[4]