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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:45  
clear_day Transit: 11:48  
SunsetSet: 15:51 south
sleep NighttimeWhat's Visible Now?
All Constellations » Taurus » 

51 Tauri

Altitude: 58.7°   Azimuth: 201.8°   Direction: South-South-West

51 Tauri is a multiple hypergiant star in the constellation of Taurus.

51 Tauri visual magnitude is 5.65. Because of its reltive faintness, 51 Tauri should be visible only from locations with dark skyes, while it is not visible at all from skyes affected by light pollution.

The table below summarizes the key facts about 51 Tauri:

5.65
Hypergiant

51 Tauri is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 58.7°
Azimuth: 201.8°
Direction: South-South-West

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of 51 Tauri

51 Tauri is situated close to the celestial equator, as such, it is at least partly visible from both hemispheres in certain times of the year. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of 51 Tauri are provided in the following table:

04h 18m 23s
+21° 34’ 45”
173.99°
-20.17°
Taurus

The simplified sky map below shows the position of 51 Tauri in the sky:

Finder chart 51 Tauri star
Simplified finder chart for 51 Tauri.

Visibility of 51 Tauri from your location

Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London

Today's 51 Tauri rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 68.4°
Max altitude: 60.1°
Azimuth: 291.6°

Digitized Sky Survey image of 51 Tauri

The image below is a photograph of 51 Tauri from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2 - see the credits section) taken in the red channel. The area of sky represented in the image is 0.5x0.5 degrees (30x30 arcmins). The proper motion of 51 Tauri is 0.094 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.037 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 1000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of 51 Tauri star
DSS2 image of 51 Tauri. The red arrow shows the motion of 51 Tauri during the next 1000 years (1.57 arcmin in Right Ascension and -0.62 arcmin in declination);

Distance of 51 Tauri from the Sun and relative movement

51 Tauri is distant 178.63 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 35 kilometers per second.

54.79 pc
178.63 ly
35 km/s
0.094 arcsec/year
-0.037 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of 51 Tauri

51 Tauri belongs to spectral class F0 and has a luminosity class of V corresponding to a hypergiant star.

1.96
F0V
7591K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where 51 Tauri is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

HR Diagram
H-R diagram showing the position of 51 Tauri. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

51 Tauri star system properties

51 Tauri is a visual double star which can be observed only with the help of very large telescopes. The table below shows key information about the 51 Tauri double sysyem:

5.65
7.65
2
0.1 arcsec

Alternative designations of 51 Tauri

SAO76541
SAO76541