Star profile
Tau Sculptor
What is Tau Sculptor
Tau Sculptoris is a yellow-white F-type star about 226 light-years away, in the constellation of the Sculptor —another modern stroke by Lacaille, devised to honour the artist's workshop. The region is discreet, with no bright stars, but it hides the south Galactic pole, a clean window toward extragalactic depths. Tau is one of the small beacons adorning that silent corner of the sky.
Where it is and when to see it
Tau Sculptor lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is October, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it culminates about 9° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 19° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 86° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 60° N.
It ranks no. 23 in brightness among the 33 stars of Sculptor in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alpha Sculptor, the brightest: it lies about 8° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 230 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 Sculptor
- Constellation
- Sculptor
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.69
- Distance
- 226.2 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 24.035° · Dec -29.907°
- Catalogue
- HIP 7463 · HD 9906
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Sculptor
Sculptor has 33 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Alpha Sculptor4.30
- Beta Sculptor4.38
- Gamma Sculptor4.41
- HIP 1153125.65
- HIP 12885.66
- HIP 6555.67
- HIP 79415.70
- HIP 71185.79