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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
SunriseRise: 6:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:06  
SunsetSet: 18:09
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All Constellations » Taurus » 

Elnath - β Tauri (beta Tauri)

Altitude: -5.8°   Azimuth: 25.8°   Direction: North-North-East

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 skies, and should be also quite easily visible from light polluted areas.

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);

Key facts about Elnath

1.65
Giant

Elnath - β Tauri (beta Tauri) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: -5.8°
Azimuth: 25.8°
Direction: North-North-East

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:

05h 26m 17s
+28° 36’ 27”
177.99°
-3.74°
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 edit_location_alt
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 edit_location_alt are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 61.4°
Max altitude: 67.1°
Azimuth: 298.6°

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.

40.18 pc
130.98 ly
9 km/s
0.022 arcsec/year
-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.

-1.37
B7III
12103K

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

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

Alternative designations of Elnath

Elnath
β Tauri
(beta Tauri)
SAO77168
SAO77168