Star profile
Tau 2 Aquarii
What is Tau 2 Aquarii
Tau-2 Aquarii belongs to the scattered company of stars that sketch the celestial Water Bearer, a figure linked to the Babylonian flood and to the release of the waters across the sky. At 318 light-years, this orange K-type giant moves through the late phase of its life, swollen and cooled from the heat of its youth. It accompanies in the southern sky the mythical jug that Aquarius empties toward the mouth of Piscis Austrinus.
Where it is and when to see it
Tau 2 Aquarii lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is September: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.
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The signature wall
Stelvia's sky works like a signature wall: anyone can leave their name and a message on a real star, and that signature goes up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.
A signature without a lock can be replaced by someone else's. The lock makes the signature permanent and lets you choose a symbolic name for the star, always shown next to the star's catalogue identifier. How the lock works
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A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.
Astronomical data for Tau 2 Aquarii
- Constellation
- Aquarius
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.05
- Distance
- 317.6 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 342.398° · Dec -13.593°
- Catalogue
- HIP 112716 · HD 216032
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Aquarius
Aquarius has 99 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- SadalsuudBeta Aquarii2.90
- SadalmelikAlpha Aquarii2.95
- SkatDelta Aquarii3.27
- SadachbiaGamma Aquarii3.86
- 98 Aquarii3.96
- Eta Aquarii4.04
- AnchaTheta Aquarii4.17
- Phi Aquarii4.22