Your Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
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All Constellations » Tucana » 

α Tucanae (alpha Tucanae)

α Tucanae is a giant star in the constellation of Tucana.

α Tucanae visual magnitude is 2.86. Thanks to its high brightness, α Tucanae is clearly visible when observed from locations with dark skyes, and should be also quite easily visible from light polluted areas.

The table below summarizes the key facts about α Tucanae:

2.86
Giant
α Tucanae (alpha Tucanae) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of α Tucanae

α Tucanae is situated south of the celestial equator, as such, it is more easily visible from the southern hemisphere. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of α Tucanae are provided in the following table:

22h 18m 30s
-60° 15’ 34”
330.22°
-47.96°
Tucana

The simplified sky map below shows the position of α Tucanae in the sky:

Finder chart α Tucanae (alpha Tucanae) star
Simplified finder chart for α Tucanae (alpha Tucanae).

Visibility of α Tucanae from your location

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

α Tucanae (alpha Tucanae) is currently not visible from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt

Digitized Sky Survey image of α Tucanae

The image below is a photograph of α Tucanae 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 α Tucanae is -0.072 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.043 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of α Tucanae (alpha Tucanae) star
DSS2 image of α Tucanae. The red arrow shows the motion of α Tucanae during the next 10000 years (-12.00 arcmin in Right Ascension and -7.17 arcmin in declination);

Distance of α Tucanae from the Sun and relative movement

α Tucanae is distant 198.54 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 42 kilometers per second.

60.90 pc
198.54 ly
42 km/s
-0.072 arcsec/year
-0.043 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of α Tucanae

α Tucanae belongs to spectral class K3 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a giant star.

-1.06
K3III
3967K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where α Tucanae is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

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

Alternative designations of α Tucanae

α Tucanae
(alpha Tucanae)
SAO255193
SAO255193