Star profile
Tau 1 Eridani
Nearby starWhat is Tau 1 Eridani
Tau-1 Eridani is a yellow-white F-type star lying just 46 light-years away, which makes it one of the Sun's reasonably close neighbours. It marks a link in the long, winding River Eridanus, the constellation the ancients let flow from Orion until it vanished below the southern horizon. Its spectral type places it among the suns slightly hotter and brighter than our own.
Where it is and when to see it
Tau 1 Eridani lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is October, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it culminates about 20° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 31° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 75° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 71° N.
It ranks no. 32 in brightness among the 129 stars of Eridanus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Achernar, the brightest: it lies about 41° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 46 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Tau 1 Eridani
- Constellation
- Eridanus
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.47
- Distance
- 46.4 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 41.276° · Dec -18.573°
- Catalogue
- HIP 12843 · HD 17206
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Other stars in Eridanus
Eridanus has 129 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- AchernarAlpha Eridani0.45
- CursaBeta Eridani2.78
- AcamarTheta 1 Eridani2.88
- Pi Eridani4.43
- KeidOmicron 2 Eridani4.43
- 32 Eridani4.46
- Upsilon 1 Eridani4.49
- HIP 168704.57