Star profile
Tau 1 Lupi
Variable starWhat is Tau 1 Lupi
Tau-1 Lupi is a Beta Cephei-type variable: a hot blue star whose surface pulses every few hours, driven by the strange behaviour of iron at two hundred thousand degrees deep within. That rapid breathing barely shifts its brightness, yet betrays a hidden engine. At 1,091 light-years, the light arriving tonight set out when Europe still taught Latin in its medieval universities.
Where it is and when to see it
Tau 1 Lupi lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is May, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never rises above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 4° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 79° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 45° N.
It ranks no. 24 in brightness among the 74 stars of Lupus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alpha Lupi, the brightest: it lies about 3° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 1,100 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 1 Lupi
- Constellation
- Lupus
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.56
- Distance
- 1091.0 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 216.534° · Dec -45.221°
- Catalogue
- HIP 70574 · HD 126341
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Other stars in Lupus
Lupus has 74 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Alpha Lupi2.30
- Beta Lupi2.68
- Gamma Lupi2.80
- Sigma Lupi4.44
- Phi 2 Lupi4.54
- HIP 763714.55
- HIP 755014.60
- HIP 768294.64