τ Aurigae (tau Aurigae)

Above the horizon. Rise: 6:10 | Tran: 12:06 | Set: 18:02

Alt: 35.44° Az: 38.34° Direction: South-South-West

τ Aurigae is a multiple giant star of spectral class G8 in the constellation of Auriga.

τ Aurigae visual magnitude is 4.52. Because of its moderate brightness, τ Aurigae is easily visible to the naked eye from locations with dark skies, while it might be barely visible, or not visible at all, from light-polluted skies.

DSS2 image of τ Aurigae. The red arrow shows the motion of τ Aurigae during the next 10000 years (-4.17 arcmin in Right Ascension and -3.67 arcmin in declination);

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

Right Ascension 05h 50m 56s

Declination +39° 11’ 14”

Hour Angle 21h 17m 12s

Sidereal Time 03h 08m 09s

J2000

Right Ascension 05h 49m 10s

Declination +39° 10’ 51”

Galactic Coordinates

Galactic Longitude 171.58°

Galactic Latitude 5.91°

Finder Chart

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Finder chart for τ Aurigae (tau Aurigae).

Magnitude, Color, Spectral Class

Color ⬤

Magnitude 4.52

Class Giant

Absolute magnitude 0.45

Spectral Type G8III

Color Index (B-V) 0.94

Temperature 4892K

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

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

Star System Properties

τ Aurigae is a visual double star which can be observed only with the help of very large telescopes. The table below shows key information about the τ Aurigae double sysyem:

Main star magnitude 4.52

Secondary star magnitude 10.62

Magnitude difference 6.1

Separation 49.6 arcsec

Distance, Radial Speed, Proper Motion

τ Aurigae is distant 212.52 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 20 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 65.19

Distance (light year) 212.52

Radial Speed -20 km/s

Proper Motion RA -0.025 arcsec/y

Proper Motion Dec -0.022"/y

Alternative Designations

Bayer designation τ Aurigae
(tau Aurigae)

Flamsteed designation 29 Aurigae

Henry Draper Catalogue HD38656

SAO Catalogue SAO58465

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP27483

Durchmusterung Catalogue BD+39 1418

Aitken Double Star Catalogue ADS4398

Visibility from Your Location

Today's τ Aurigae (tau Aurigae) rise, transit and set times from Lambaréné, Gabon are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Africa/Libreville):

Azimuth: 50.8° RISE 6:10

Max altitude: 50.1° TRANSIT 12:06

Azimuth: 309.2° SET 18:02

Name:	Lambaréné, Gabon
Latitude:	0° 42' 0.4" S
Longitude:	10° 14' 26.2" E
Timezone:	Africa/Libreville

Set Location

Other stars in Auriga