τ Puppis (tau Puppis)

τ Puppis is a giant star in the constellation of Puppis.

τ Puppis visual magnitude is 2.93. Thanks to its high brightness, τ Puppis 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 τ Puppis:

Color of τ Puppis ⬤

Magnitude of τ Puppis 2.93

Class Giant

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

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of τ Puppis

τ Puppis 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 τ Puppis are provided in the following table:

Right Ascension J2000 06h 49m 56s

Declination J2000 -50° 36’ 52”

Galactic Longitude 260.16°

Galactic Latitude -20.86°

Constellation Puppis

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

Simplified finder chart for τ Puppis (tau Puppis).

Visibility of τ Puppis from your location

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

τ Puppis (tau Puppis) is currently not visible from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]

Digitized Sky Survey image of τ Puppis

The image below is a photograph of τ Puppis 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 Puppis is 0.036 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.07 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

DSS2 image of τ Puppis. The red arrow shows the motion of τ Puppis during the next 10000 years (6.00 arcmin in Right Ascension and -11.67 arcmin in declination);

Distance of τ Puppis from the Sun and relative movement

τ Puppis is distant 182.63 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 36 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 56.02 pc

Distance (light year) 182.63 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity 36 km/s

Proper Motion RA 0.036 arcsec/year

Proper Motion Dec -0.07 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of τ Puppis

τ Puppis belongs to spectral class K1 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a giant star.

Absolute magnitude -0.81

Spectral Type K1III

Color Index (B-V) 1.2

Temperature of τ Puppis 4309K

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

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

Alternative designations of τ Puppis

Bayer designation τ Puppis
(tau Puppis)

Henry Draper Catalogue HD50310

SAO Catalogue SAO234735

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP32768

Durchmusterung Catalogue CD-50 2415

FK5 Catalogue 263

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In Evidence

Other stars in Puppis