Electra - 17 Tauri

Electra, also designated as 17 Tauri , is a double giant star in the constellation of Taurus.

Electra visual magnitude is 3.7. Because of its moderate brightness, Electra should be easily visible from locations with dark skyes, while it can be barely visible, or not visible at all, from skyes affected by light pollution.

The table below summarizes the key facts about Electra:

Color of Electra ⬤

Magnitude of Electra 3.7

Class Giant

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW Electra - 17 Tauri is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]. Altitude: 53°.

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Electra

Electra 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 Electra are provided in the following table:

Right Ascension J2000 03h 44m 52s

Declination J2000 +24° 06’ 47”

Galactic Longitude 166.18°

Galactic Latitude -23.85°

Constellation Taurus

The simplified sky map below shows the position of Electra in the sky:

Simplified finder chart for Electra - 17 Tauri.

Visibility of Electra from your location

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

Today's Electra - 17 Tauri rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 65.9° RISE 8:07

Max altitude: 62.6° TRANSIT 16:21

Azimuth: 294.1° SET 0:35

RIGHT NOW Electra - 17 Tauri is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom

Digitized Sky Survey image of Electra

The image below is a photograph of Electra 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 Electra is 0.019 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.046 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

DSS2 image of Electra. The red arrow shows the motion of Electra during the next 10000 years (3.17 arcmin in Right Ascension and -7.67 arcmin in declination);

Distance of Electra from the Sun and relative movement

Electra is distant 370.45 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 12 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 113.64 pc

Distance (light year) 370.45 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity 12 km/s

Proper Motion RA 0.019 arcsec/year

Proper Motion Dec -0.046 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of Electra

Electra belongs to spectral class B6 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a giant star.

Absolute magnitude -1.58

Spectral Type B6III

Color Index (B-V) -0.11

Temperature of Electra 11744K

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

H-R diagram showing the position of Electra. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

Electra star system properties

Electra 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 Electra double sysyem:

Main star magnitude 3.7

Secondary star magnitude 5.7

Magnitude difference 2

Separation 0 arcsec

Alternative designations of Electra

Proper Name Electra

Flamsteed designation 17 Tauri

Henry Draper Catalogue HD23302

SAO Catalogue SAO76131

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP17499

Durchmusterung Catalogue BD+23 507

FK5 Catalogue 136

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