Star profile
Tau Centauri
What is Tau Centauri
Tau Centauri shines with the white elegance characteristic of A-type stars, some 131 light-years away in the vast southern Centaurus. Its light is younger and hotter than the Sun's, marked by the bluish sharpness typical of stars still living fully off hydrogen fusion in their core.
Where it is and when to see it
Tau Centauri lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is April, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never rises above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 1° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 75° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 41° N.
It ranks no. 16 in brightness among the 174 stars of Centaurus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Rigil Kentaurus, the brightest: it lies about 21° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 130 years ago.
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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 Tau Centauri
- Constellation
- Centaurus
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.85
- Distance
- 131.3 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 189.426° · Dec -48.541°
- Catalogue
- HIP 61622 · HD 109787
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Other stars in Centaurus
Centaurus has 174 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Rigil KentaurusAlpha 1 Centauri-0.01
- HadarBeta Centauri0.61
- TolimanAlpha 2 Centauri1.35
- Nu Centauri3.41
- Mu Centauri3.47
- Phi Centauri3.83
- Upsilon 1 Centauri3.87
- Pi Centauri3.90