Star profile

Tarf

Beta Cancri · Cancer

3D likeness based on its real data · class K · ~4,200 K

What is Tarf

Tarf, 'the end' in Arabic, marks the southern paw of the Crab, in a constellation that is pale but ancient, threaded across its centre by the Beehive cluster of dim stars. It is a K-type orange giant about 303 light-years away — its warm, calm light set out around 1722, when the Mughal Empire still ruled northern India and Bach was composing in Leipzig.

Where it is and when to see it

Tarf lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is January, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it culminates about 48° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 58° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 47° above the horizon.

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

It is the brightest of the 49 stars of Cancer in our catalogue, which makes it the best starting point for finding your way around the constellation.

The light you see today left it about 300 years ago.

Find it on the sky map

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Leave your signature on Tarf

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Write my signature

A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.

Astronomical data for Tarf

Constellation: Cancer
Apparent magnitude: 3.53
Distance: 303.4 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 124.129° · Dec 9.186°
Catalogue: HIP 40526 · HD 69267

A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.

Other stars in Cancer

Cancer has 49 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 49 stars in Cancer