τ Sagittarii (tau Sagittarii)

Altitude: 10.8° Azimuth: 178.5° Direction: South

τ Sagittarii is a giant star in the constellation of Sagittarius.

τ Sagittarii visual magnitude is 3.32. Because of its moderate brightness, τ Sagittarii 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 τ Sagittarii:

Color of τ Sagittarii ⬤

Magnitude of τ Sagittarii 3.32

Class Giant

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW

τ Sagittarii (tau Sagittarii) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 10.8°
Azimuth: 178.5°
Direction: South

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of τ Sagittarii

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

Right Ascension J2000 19h 06m 56s

Declination J2000 -27° 40’ 14”

Galactic Longitude 9.34°

Galactic Latitude -15.37°

Constellation Sagittarius

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

Finder chart τ Sagittarii (tau Sagittarii) star

Simplified finder chart for τ Sagittarii (tau Sagittarii).

Visibility of τ Sagittarii 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 τ Sagittarii (tau Sagittarii) 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: 117.7° RISE 23:44

Max altitude: 10.8° TRANSIT 3:02

Azimuth: 242.3° SET 6:16

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

Digitized Sky Survey image of τ Sagittarii

The image below is a photograph of τ Sagittarii 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 Sagittarii is -0.053 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.251 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 1000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of τ Sagittarii (tau Sagittarii) star

DSS2 image of τ Sagittarii. The red arrow shows the motion of τ Sagittarii during the next 1000 years (-0.88 arcmin in Right Ascension and -4.18 arcmin in declination);

Distance of τ Sagittarii from the Sun and relative movement

τ Sagittarii is distant 120.34 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 45 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 36.91 pc

Distance (light year) 120.34 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity 45 km/s

Proper Motion RA -0.053 arcsec/year

Proper Motion Dec -0.251 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of τ Sagittarii

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

Absolute magnitude 0.48

Spectral Type K1III

Color Index (B-V) 1.19

Temperature of τ Sagittarii 4328K

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

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

Alternative designations of τ Sagittarii

Bayer designation τ Sagittarii
(tau Sagittarii)

Flamsteed designation 40 Sagittarii

Henry Draper Catalogue HD177716

SAO Catalogue SAO187683

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP93864

Durchmusterung Catalogue CD-2713564

Gliese Catalogue Wo 9643

FK5 Catalogue 1496

In Evidence

Other stars in Sagittarius