Star profile

Nu Tauri

3D likeness based on its real data · class A · ~8,500 K

What is Nu Tauri

Nu Tauri is a white A-type star 117 light-years away, on the southern flank of the Bull. Despite its visual closeness, it is not a member of the Hyades cluster: it merely passes in front of that orange herd like a traveller sharing the road without sharing the origin. Its polished, even light crosses both northern winter and southern summer skies; when it set out, no one on Earth had yet measured the real distance to any star, and the modern Pacific was only just being charted.

Where it is and when to see it

Nu 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 44° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 55° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 50° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 84° S.

It ranks no. 16 in brightness among the 144 stars of Taurus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Aldebaran, the brightest: it lies about 13° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 120 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Nu Tauri

Constellation: Taurus
Apparent magnitude: 3.91
Distance: 117.0 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 60.789° · Dec 5.989°
Catalogue: HIP 18907 · HD 25490

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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