
Star profile
Iota Tauri
What is Iota Tauri
Iota Tauri rests 173 light-years away in Taurus, not far from the open cluster of the Hyades and the blue flash of the Pleiades. A white A-type star, young and hot, it shares the proper motion that ties together a great part of the Taurus shoal. Its cool hue matches that of the bright stellar swarm framing Aldebaran.
Where it is and when to see it
Iota 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 December, 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. 32 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 170 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Iota Tauri
- Constellation
- Taurus
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.62
- Distance
- 172.8 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 75.774° · Dec 21.590°
- Catalogue
- HIP 23497 · HD 32301
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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
- 37 Tauri4.36
- 71 Tauri4.48
- 136 Tauri4.56
- Rho Tauri4.65
- Sigma 2 Tauri4.67