Star profile
53 Tauri
Variable starWhat is 53 Tauri
53 Tauri is a chemically peculiar mercury-manganese (HgMn) star —a very rare class in which mercury, manganese and other heavy elements concentrate anomalously in its atmosphere through gravitational settling—. In its particular case, however, the diagnostic ionized-mercury line at 398.4 nm is strangely absent, making it an anomaly within an already rare group. It forms a spectroscopic binary system 270 light-years away in the northern half of Taurus.
Where it is and when to see it
53 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 70° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 35° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 69° S.
It ranks no. 86 in brightness among the 144 stars of Taurus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Aldebaran, the brightest: it lies about 6° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 270 years ago.
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Astronomical data for 53 Tauri
- Constellation
- Taurus
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.50
- Distance
- 270.0 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 64.859° · Dec 21.142°
- Catalogue
- HIP 20171 · HD 27295
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Other stars in Taurus
Taurus has 144 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- AldebaranAlpha Tauri0.87
- ElnathBeta Tauri1.65
- AlcyoneEta Tauri2.85
- 81 Tauri5.47
- 118 Tauri5.47
- 130 Tauri5.47
- 103 Tauri5.50
- HIP 259505.50