τ Cancri (tau Cancri)

τ Cancri is a giant star in the constellation of Cancer.

τ Cancri visual magnitude is 5.43. Because of its reltive faintness, τ Cancri should be visible only from locations with dark skyes, while it is not visible at all from skyes affected by light pollution.

The table below summarizes the key facts about τ Cancri:

Color of τ Cancri ⬤

Magnitude of τ Cancri 5.43

Class Giant

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW τ Cancri (tau Cancri) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]. Altitude: 6°.

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of τ Cancri

τ Cancri 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 τ Cancri are provided in the following table:

Right Ascension J2000 09h 08m 00s

Declination J2000 +29° 39’ 15”

Galactic Longitude 196.07°

Galactic Latitude 41.28°

Constellation Cancer

The simplified sky map below shows the position of τ Cancri in the sky:

Simplified finder chart for τ Cancri (tau Cancri).

Visibility of τ Cancri from your location

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

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

Azimuth: 60.3° RISE 12:24

Max altitude: 68.2° TRANSIT 21:24

Azimuth: 299.7° SET 6:27

RIGHT NOW τ Cancri (tau Cancri) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom

Digitized Sky Survey image of τ Cancri

The image below is a photograph of τ Cancri 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 τ Cancri is -0.032 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and 0.002 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

DSS2 image of τ Cancri. The red arrow shows the motion of τ Cancri during the next 10000 years (-5.33 arcmin in Right Ascension and 0.33 arcmin in declination);

Distance of τ Cancri from the Sun and relative movement

τ Cancri is distant 259.55 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 13 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 79.62 pc

Distance (light year) 259.55 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity -13 km/s

Proper Motion RA -0.032 arcsec/year

Proper Motion Dec 0.002 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of τ Cancri

τ Cancri belongs to spectral class G8 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a giant star.

Absolute magnitude 0.92

Spectral Type G8III

Color Index (B-V) 0.89

Temperature of τ Cancri 5023K

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

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

Alternative designations of τ Cancri

Bayer designation τ Cancri
(tau Cancri)

Flamsteed designation 72 Cancri

Henry Draper Catalogue HD78235

SAO Catalogue SAO80650

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP44818

Durchmusterung Catalogue BD+30 1817

FK5 Catalogue 2719

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