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A fourth magnitude star in the eastern parts of Aquarius, falling close enough to the line of the Ecliptic that it is regularly occulted by the Moon as it passes through the constellation of the Water Carrier. Phi Aquarii falls southward of the Circlet formation representing the western-facing fish of neighbouring Pisces.
Lying a little over two hundred light years from the Solar System, this is a red giant star in the later stages of its life. The star's outer shell has expanded until its diameter is nearly forty times that of the Sun, but the tenuous nature of this shell means that its surface is comparatively rather cooler than that of a typical Sun-like dwarf star. Analysis of the spectrum of Phi Aquarii suggests that it has a binary companion orbiting the primary red giant in a period of nearly seven years.
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