Paikauhale - τ Scorpii (tau Scorpii)

Paikauhale, also designated as τ Scorpii (tau Scorpii), is a hypergiant star in the constellation of Scorpius.

Paikauhale visual magnitude is 2.82. Thanks to its high brightness, Paikauhale 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 Paikauhale:

Color of Paikauhale ⬤

Magnitude of Paikauhale 2.82

Class Hypergiant

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW Paikauhale - τ Scorpii (tau Scorpii) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Paikauhale

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

Right Ascension J2000 16h 35m 53s

Declination J2000 -28° 12’ 57”

Galactic Longitude 351.54°

Galactic Latitude 12.81°

Constellation Scorpius

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

Finder chart Paikauhale - τ Scorpii (tau Scorpii) star

Simplified finder chart for Paikauhale - τ Scorpii (tau Scorpii).

Visibility of Paikauhale from your location

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

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

Azimuth: 118.2° RISE 1:53

Max altitude: 10.3° TRANSIT 5:02

Azimuth: 241.8° SET 8:12

RIGHT NOW Paikauhale - τ Scorpii (tau Scorpii) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom

Digitized Sky Survey image of Paikauhale

The image below is a photograph of Paikauhale 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 Paikauhale is -0.008 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.022 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of Paikauhale - τ Scorpii (tau Scorpii) star

DSS2 image of Paikauhale. The red arrow shows the motion of Paikauhale during the next 10000 years (-1.33 arcmin in Right Ascension and -3.67 arcmin in declination);

Distance of Paikauhale from the Sun and relative movement

Paikauhale is distant 429.51 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 2 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 131.75 pc

Distance (light year) 429.51 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity 2 km/s

Proper Motion RA -0.008 arcsec/year

Proper Motion Dec -0.022 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of Paikauhale

Paikauhale belongs to spectral class B0 and has a luminosity class of V corresponding to a hypergiant star.

Absolute magnitude -2.78

Spectral Type B0V

Color Index (B-V) -0.25

Temperature of Paikauhale 14924K

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

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

Alternative designations of Paikauhale

Proper Name Paikauhale

Bayer designation τ Scorpii
(tau Scorpii)

Flamsteed designation 23 Scorpii

Henry Draper Catalogue HD149438

SAO Catalogue SAO184481

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP81266

Durchmusterung Catalogue CD-2711015

FK5 Catalogue 620

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