Zeta Phoenicis is a 280 light-year distant star in the constellation

Constellation

In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....

 Phoenix

Phoenix (constellation)

Phoenix is a minor constellation in the southern sky. It is named after the Phoenix, a mythical bird. It is faint: there are only two stars in the whole constellation which are brighter than magnitude 5.0...

. It is an Algol

Algol variable

Algol variables or Algol-type binaries are a class of eclipsing binary stars where the orbital plane of the stars are coincident with the line of sight from Earth. When the cooler component passes in front of the hotter one, part of the latter's light is blocked, and the total brightness of the...

-type eclipsing binary star and its apparent magnitude

Apparent magnitude

The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere...

fluctuates between 3.9 and 4.4 with a period of 1.66977 days. Zeta Phoenicis is a four-star system: it has two other telescopic components with an apparent magnitude of 7.2 and 8.2 at a distance of 0.8 and 6.4 arcseconds from the main star.