Elnath - β Tauri (beta Tauri)

Elnath, also designated as β Tauri (beta Tauri), is a giant star in the constellation of Taurus.

Elnath visual magnitude is 1.65, making it the 26th brightest star in the sky. Thanks to its high brightness, Elnath 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 Elnath:

Color of Elnath ⬤

Magnitude of Elnath 1.65

Class Giant

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW Elnath - β Tauri (beta Tauri) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]. Altitude: 9°.

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Elnath

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

Right Ascension J2000 05h 26m 17s

Declination J2000 +28° 36’ 27”

Galactic Longitude 177.99°

Galactic Latitude -3.74°

Constellation Taurus

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

Finder chart Elnath - β Tauri (beta Tauri) star

Simplified finder chart for Elnath - β Tauri (beta Tauri).

Visibility of Elnath from your location

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

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

Azimuth: 61.4° RISE 9:00

Max altitude: 67.1° TRANSIT 17:51

Azimuth: 298.6° SET 2:45

RIGHT NOW Elnath - β Tauri (beta Tauri) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom

Digitized Sky Survey image of Elnath

The image below is a photograph of Elnath 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 Elnath is 0.022 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.175 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 1000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of Elnath - β Tauri (beta Tauri) star

DSS2 image of Elnath. The red arrow shows the motion of Elnath during the next 1000 years (0.37 arcmin in Right Ascension and -2.92 arcmin in declination);

Distance of Elnath from the Sun and relative movement

Elnath is distant 130.98 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 9 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 40.18 pc

Distance (light year) 130.98 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity 9 km/s

Proper Motion RA 0.022 arcsec/year

Proper Motion Dec -0.175 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of Elnath

Elnath belongs to spectral class B7 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a giant star.

Absolute magnitude -1.37

Spectral Type B7III

Color Index (B-V) -0.13

Temperature of Elnath 12103K

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

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

Alternative designations of Elnath

Proper Name Elnath

Bayer designation β Tauri
(beta Tauri)

Flamsteed designation 112 Tauri

Henry Draper Catalogue HD35497

SAO Catalogue SAO77168

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP25428

Durchmusterung Catalogue BD+28 795

FK5 Catalogue 202

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