φ Tauri (phi Tauri)

Altitude: -10.9° Azimuth: 353.3° Direction: North

φ Tauri is a double giant star in the constellation of Taurus.

φ Tauri visual magnitude is 4.95. Because of its moderate brightness, φ Tauri 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 φ Tauri:

Color of φ Tauri ⬤

Magnitude of φ Tauri 4.95

Class Giant

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW

φ Tauri (phi Tauri) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: -10.9°
Azimuth: 353.3°
Direction: North

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of φ Tauri

φ Tauri 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 φ Tauri are provided in the following table:

Right Ascension J2000 04h 20m 21s

Declination J2000 +27° 21’ 02”

Galactic Longitude 169.83°

Galactic Latitude -15.94°

Constellation Taurus

The simplified sky map below shows the position of φ Tauri in the sky:

Simplified finder chart for φ Tauri (phi Tauri).

Visibility of φ Tauri 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 φ Tauri (phi 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: 62.6° RISE 20:37

Max altitude: 65.9° TRANSIT 5:21

Azimuth: 297.4° SET 14:00

Digitized Sky Survey image of φ Tauri

The image below is a photograph of φ Tauri 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 φ Tauri is -0.025 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.08 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

DSS2 image of φ Tauri. The red arrow shows the motion of φ Tauri during the next 10000 years (-4.17 arcmin in Right Ascension and -13.33 arcmin in declination);

Distance of φ Tauri from the Sun and relative movement

φ Tauri is distant 342.08 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 3 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 104.93 pc

Distance (light year) 342.08 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity 3 km/s

Proper Motion RA -0.025 arcsec/year

Proper Motion Dec -0.08 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of φ Tauri

φ Tauri belongs to spectral class K1 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a giant star.

Absolute magnitude -0.15

Spectral Type K1III

Color Index (B-V) 1.15

Temperature of φ Tauri 4409K

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

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

φ Tauri star system properties

φ Tauri is a visual double star which can be observed with binoculars or small telescopes. The table below shows key information about the φ Tauri double sysyem:

Main star magnitude 4.95

Secondary star magnitude 8.65

Magnitude difference 3.7

Separation 50 arcsec

Alternative designations of φ Tauri

Bayer designation φ Tauri
(phi Tauri)

Flamsteed designation 52 Tauri

Henry Draper Catalogue HD27382

SAO Catalogue SAO76558

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP20250

Durchmusterung Catalogue BD+27 655

Aitken Double Star Catalogue ADS3137

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