Star profile

Tau Persei

Variable star

3D likeness based on its real data · class G · ~5,500 K

What is Tau Persei

Tau Persei flickers at 254 light-years inside a constellation steeped in myth and tragedy. Its brightness varies subtly, hinting at a stellar system that hides more than it shows to the naked eye. The light arriving tonight in our autumn skies set out around the year 1772, when telescopes across Europe were only just beginning to unravel the close doubles hidden behind every faint twinkle.

Where it is and when to see it

Tau Persei lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is November: 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.

Find it on the sky map

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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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Write my signature

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 Persei

Constellation: Perseus
Apparent magnitude: 3.93
Distance: 254.2 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 43.564° · Dec 52.762°
Catalogue: HIP 13531 · HD 17878

A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.

Other stars in Perseus

Perseus has 99 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 99 stars in Perseus