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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: 7:40  
clear_day Transit: 11:47  
SunsetSet: 15:53 south
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All Constellations » Pictor » 

θ Pictoris (theta Pictoris)

Altitude: -14.4°   Azimuth: 188.2°   Direction: South

θ Pictoris is a multiple hypergiant star in the constellation of Pictor.

θ Pictoris visual magnitude is 6.27. Because of its reltive faintness, θ Pictoris 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 θ Pictoris:

6.27
Hypergiant

θ Pictoris (theta Pictoris) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: -14.4°
Azimuth: 188.2°
Direction: South

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of θ Pictoris

θ Pictoris 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 θ Pictoris are provided in the following table:

05h 24m 46s
-52° 18’ 59”
259.56°
-34.18°
Pictor

The simplified sky map below shows the position of θ Pictoris in the sky:

Finder chart θ Pictoris (theta Pictoris) star
Simplified finder chart for θ Pictoris (theta Pictoris).

Visibility of θ Pictoris from your location

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

θ Pictoris (theta Pictoris) is currently not visible from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt

Digitized Sky Survey image of θ Pictoris

The image below is a photograph of θ Pictoris 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 θ Pictoris is -0.012 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.031 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of θ Pictoris (theta Pictoris) star
DSS2 image of θ Pictoris. The red arrow shows the motion of θ Pictoris during the next 10000 years (-2.00 arcmin in Right Ascension and -5.17 arcmin in declination);

Distance of θ Pictoris from the Sun and relative movement

θ Pictoris is distant 533.55 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 3 kilometers per second.

163.67 pc
533.55 ly
-3 km/s
-0.012 arcsec/year
-0.031 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of θ Pictoris

θ Pictoris belongs to spectral class A0 and has a luminosity class of V corresponding to a hypergiant star.

0.20
A0V
9328K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where θ Pictoris is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

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

θ Pictoris star system properties

θ Pictoris is a visual double star which can be observed with binoculars or small telescopes. The table below shows key information about the θ Pictoris double sysyem:

6.27
6.77
0.5
38.2 arcsec

Alternative designations of θ Pictoris

θ Pictoris
(theta Pictoris)
SAO233965
SAO233965