Merope - 23 Tauri

Merope, also designated as 23 Tauri , is a variable sub-giant star in the constellation of Taurus.

Merope visual magnitude is 4.18. Because of its moderate brightness, Merope 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 Merope:

Color of Merope ⬤

Magnitude of Merope 4.18

Class Sub-giant

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW Merope - 23 Tauri is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Merope

Merope 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 Merope are provided in the following table:

Right Ascension J2000 03h 46m 19s

Declination J2000 +23° 56’ 53”

Galactic Longitude 166.57°

Galactic Latitude -23.75°

Constellation Taurus

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

Simplified finder chart for Merope - 23 Tauri.

Visibility of Merope from your location

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

Today's Merope - 23 Tauri rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 66.1° RISE 7:29

Max altitude: 62.5° TRANSIT 15:42

Azimuth: 293.9° SET 23:55

RIGHT NOW Merope - 23 Tauri is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom

Digitized Sky Survey image of Merope

The image below is a photograph of Merope 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 Merope is 0.021 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.045 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

DSS2 image of Merope. The red arrow shows the motion of Merope during the next 10000 years (3.50 arcmin in Right Ascension and -7.50 arcmin in declination);

Distance of Merope from the Sun and relative movement

Merope is distant 359.03 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 6 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 110.13 pc

Distance (light year) 359.03 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity 6 km/s

Proper Motion RA 0.021 arcsec/year

Proper Motion Dec -0.045 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of Merope

Merope belongs to spectral class B6 and has a luminosity class of IV corresponding to a sub-giant star.

Absolute magnitude -1.03

Spectral Type B6IV

Color Index (B-V) -0.06

Temperature of Merope 10941K

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

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

Alternative designations of Merope

Proper Name Merope

Flamsteed designation 23 Tauri

Henry Draper Catalogue HD23480

SAO Catalogue SAO76172

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP17608

Durchmusterung Catalogue BD+23 522

General Catalogue of Variable Stars V971 Tau

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