Star profile

51 Tauri

3D likeness based on its real data · class F · ~6,500 K

What is 51 Tauri

51 Tauri is a yellow-white F-type star in the field of the Bull, not far from the Hyades, the V-shaped cluster that traces the mythical animal's head. A touch hotter and brighter than the Sun, it lies just 176 light-years away —a modest distance by stellar standards— and its light set out around 1850, when Foucault was demonstrating Earth's rotation in Paris with his famous pendulum beneath the Panthéon's dome.

Where it is and when to see it

51 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 60° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 71° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 35° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 68° S.

It ranks no. 102 in brightness among the 144 stars of Taurus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Aldebaran, the brightest: it lies about 7° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 180 years ago.

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Astronomical data for 51 Tauri

Constellation: Taurus
Apparent magnitude: 5.64
Distance: 176.3 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 64.597° · Dec 21.579°
Catalogue: HIP 20087 · HD 27176

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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