Star profile

Xi Tauri

Variable star

3D likeness based on its real data · class B · ~15,000 K

What is Xi Tauri

Xi-2 Tauri belongs to an extraordinary hierarchical quadruple: two blue-white B-type stars form an eclipsing binary that circles every 7.15 days, itself orbited by a third B-type star and, far beyond, by an F companion taking some fifty years to complete its turn. Four suns interlaced 209 light-years away in the Bull, performing a stellar clockwork that only careful spectroscopy has managed to untangle.

Where it is and when to see it

Xi Tauri 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, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it culminates about 48° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 59° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 46° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 80° S.

It ranks no. 12 in brightness among the 144 stars of Taurus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Aldebaran, the brightest: it lies about 18° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 210 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Xi Tauri

Constellation: Taurus
Apparent magnitude: 3.73
Distance: 209.1 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 51.792° · Dec 9.733°
Catalogue: HIP 16083 · HD 21364

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Other stars in Taurus

Taurus has 144 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 144 stars in Taurus