Star profile

Electra

17 Tauri · Taurus

Hot blue star

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

What is Electra

Electra is one of the Seven Pleiades, the daughters of the Titan Atlas placed by the Greeks into Taurus. Legend says she veiled her face in mourning after the fall of Troy, dimming her brightness. She is a hot blue star about 405 light-years away — the light you see tonight set out around 1621, just as the Mayflower had finished crossing the Atlantic.

Where it is and when to see it

Electra 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 63° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 73° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 32° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 66° S.

It ranks no. 11 in brightness among the 144 stars of Taurus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Aldebaran, the brightest: it lies about 14° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 400 years ago.

Find it on the sky map

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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 Electra

Constellation: Taurus
Apparent magnitude: 3.72
Distance: 404.7 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 56.219° · Dec 24.113°
Catalogue: HIP 17499 · HD 23302

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

Other stars in Taurus

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

See all 144 stars in Taurus