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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:44  
clear_day Transit: 11:48  
SunsetSet: 15:51 south
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All Constellations » Serpens » 

τ8 Serpentis (tau8 Serpentis)

Altitude: 11.7°   Azimuth: 283.0°   Direction: West-North-West

τ8 Serpentis is a hypergiant star in the constellation of Serpens.

τ8 Serpentis visual magnitude is 6.14. Because of its reltive faintness, τ8 Serpentis 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 τ8 Serpentis:

6.14
Hypergiant

τ8 Serpentis (tau8 Serpentis) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 11.7°
Azimuth: 283.0°
Direction: West-North-West

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of τ8 Serpentis

τ8 Serpentis 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 τ8 Serpentis are provided in the following table:

15h 44m 42s
+17° 15’ 51”
28.33°
48.91°
Serpens

The simplified sky map below shows the position of τ8 Serpentis in the sky:

Finder chart τ8 Serpentis (tau8 Serpentis) star
Simplified finder chart for τ8 Serpentis (tau8 Serpentis).

Visibility of τ8 Serpentis 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 τ8 Serpentis (tau8 Serpentis) 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: 72.7°
Max altitude: 55.8°
Azimuth: 287.3°

Digitized Sky Survey image of τ8 Serpentis

The image below is a photograph of τ8 Serpentis 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 τ8 Serpentis is -0.026 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and 0 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of τ8 Serpentis (tau8 Serpentis) star
DSS2 image of τ8 Serpentis. The red arrow shows the motion of τ8 Serpentis during the next 10000 years (-4.33 arcmin in Right Ascension and 0.00 arcmin in declination);

Distance of τ8 Serpentis from the Sun and relative movement

τ8 Serpentis is distant 320.87 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 5 kilometers per second.

98.43 pc
320.87 ly
-5 km/s
-0.026 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of τ8 Serpentis

τ8 Serpentis belongs to spectral class A0 and has a luminosity class of V corresponding to a hypergiant star.

1.17
A0V
10125K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where τ8 Serpentis is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

HR Diagram
H-R diagram showing the position of τ8 Serpentis. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

Alternative designations of τ8 Serpentis

τ8 Serpentis
(tau8 Serpentis)
26 Serpentis
SAO101712
SAO101712