Star profile

66 Tauri

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

What is 66 Tauri

66 Tauri stands in the wide field of the Bull, a white A-type star whose clean, hot light travels 396 years before reaching us. It left when Velázquez was painting at the court of Philip IV. With no notable pulsations and no known companions, it offers the cleanest image of a star in its maturity: a sphere of hydrogen in silent combustion, bright as a magnesium flame.

Where it is and when to see it

66 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 47° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 81° S.

It ranks no. 55 in brightness among the 144 stars of Taurus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Aldebaran, the brightest: it lies about 8° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

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

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Astronomical data for 66 Tauri

Constellation: Taurus
Apparent magnitude: 5.10
Distance: 395.9 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 65.966° · Dec 9.461°
Catalogue: HIP 20522 · HD 27820

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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