τ3 Eridani (tau3 Eridani)

Altitude: -27.7° Azimuth: 266.1° Direction: West

τ3 Eridani is a sub-giant star in the constellation of Eridanus.

τ3 Eridani visual magnitude is 4.09. Because of its moderate brightness, τ3 Eridani 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 τ3 Eridani:

Color of τ3 Eridani ⬤

Magnitude of τ3 Eridani 4.09

Class Sub-giant

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW

τ3 Eridani (tau3 Eridani) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: -27.7°
Azimuth: 266.1°
Direction: West

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of τ3 Eridani

τ3 Eridani is situated close to the celestial equator, as such, it is at least partly visible from both hemispheres in certain times of the year. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of τ3 Eridani are provided in the following table:

Right Ascension J2000 03h 02m 23s

Declination J2000 -23° 37’ 27”

Galactic Longitude 213.54°

Galactic Latitude -60.29°

Constellation Eridanus

The simplified sky map below shows the position of τ3 Eridani in the sky:

Finder chart τ3 Eridani (tau3 Eridani) star

Simplified finder chart for τ3 Eridani (tau3 Eridani).

Visibility of τ3 Eridani 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 τ3 Eridani (tau3 Eridani) 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: 113.6° RISE 18:19

Max altitude: 14.9° TRANSIT 22:04

Azimuth: 246.4° SET 1:53

Digitized Sky Survey image of τ3 Eridani

The image below is a photograph of τ3 Eridani 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 τ3 Eridani is -0.145 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.054 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 1000 years is represented with the red arrow.

DSS2 image of τ3 Eridani. The red arrow shows the motion of τ3 Eridani during the next 1000 years (-2.42 arcmin in Right Ascension and -0.90 arcmin in declination);

Distance of τ3 Eridani from the Sun and relative movement

τ3 Eridani is distant 86.13 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 10 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 26.42 pc

Distance (light year) 86.13 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity -10 km/s

Proper Motion RA -0.145 arcsec/year

Proper Motion Dec -0.054 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of τ3 Eridani

τ3 Eridani belongs to spectral class A4 and has a luminosity class of IV corresponding to a sub-giant star.

Absolute magnitude 1.98

Spectral Type A4IV

Color Index (B-V) 0.16

Temperature of τ3 Eridani 8486K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where τ3 Eridani is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

H-R diagram showing the position of τ3 Eridani. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

Alternative designations of τ3 Eridani

Bayer designation τ3 Eridani
(tau3 Eridani)

Flamsteed designation 11 Eridani

Henry Draper Catalogue HD18978

SAO Catalogue SAO168249

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP14146

Durchmusterung Catalogue CD-24 1387

Gliese Catalogue Gl 121

FK5 Catalogue 1085

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In Evidence

Other stars in Eridanus