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: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.

Find it on the sky map

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The signature wall

Stelvia's sky works like a signature wall: anyone can leave their name and a message on a real star, and that signature goes up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.

A signature without a lock can be replaced by someone else's. The lock makes the signature permanent and lets you choose a symbolic name for the star, always shown next to the star's catalogue identifier. How the lock works

If you don't have an account yet, we'll ask for an email to confirm it's you: we send you a link and that's it, no password.

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