Tau Persei, a yellow giant star in Perseus
Tau Persei is a yellow giant star in the constellation Perseus. At 254 light years away, it is the 479th brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 3.93.
Tau Persei (HIP 13531)
Tau Persei is a yellow giant star in the constellation Perseus. At 254 light years away, it is the 479th brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 3.93. Tau Persei is the primary component of a multiple-star system. The iron abundance of Tau Persei is -0.1 (79.4% of the Sun). It is moving through the Galaxy at a speed of 2.8 km/s relative to the Sun. Its projected Galactic orbit carries it between 24,100 and 34,200 light years from the center of the Galaxy.
Sky position: RA 2h 54.3m, Dec +52° 45.6'
Common designations: Tau Persei, 18 Persei, HIP 13531, HD 17878
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Brightest stars in Perseus:
(list all)
| Rank | Mag. | Star |
| 3 | 2.84 | Atik |
| 4 | 2.90 | Epsilon Persei |
| 5 | 2.91 | Gamma Persei |
| 6 | 3.01 | Delta Persei |
| 7 | 3.32 | Gorgonea Tertia |
| 8 | 3.77 | Miram |
| 9 | 3.77 | Nu Persei |
| 10 | 3.79 | Misam |
| 11 | 3.84 | Atik |
12
| 3.93
) Tau Persei
| Rank | Mag. | Star |
| 13 | 3.96 | 48 Persei |
| 14 | 3.98 | Menkhib |
| 15 | 4.01 | Phi Persei |
| 16 | 4.05 | Iota Persei |
| 17 | 4.10 | Theta Persei |
| 18 | 4.12 | Mu Persei |
| 19 | 4.22 | 16 Persei |
Hover over other bright stars to identify or click to jump.
Galactic Orbit of Tau Persei
(compared to the Sun)
E
ccentricity: 17.3% vs. 16.0%Angle φ : 18.3°vs. 26.0°
Semi-major axis : 8,949 pc vs. 8,686 pc
Semi-minor axis: 8,815 pc vs. 8,574 pc
Focus-to-center
: 1,544 pcvs. 1,388 pcSemilatus rectum : 8,682 pc vs. 8,464 pc
Perigalacticon: 7,405 pc vs. 7,297 pc
Apogalacticon
: 10,492 pcvs. 10,074 pcSome Tabulated XHIP Data for Tau Persei
(see also: SIMBAD)
Astrometry
2007A&A...474..653V
| Position | Proper Motion | |
| Right Ascension: | 43.56442622° ±0.24 mas | -1.26 ±0.28 mas/yr. |
| Declination: | 52.76248950° ±0.22 mas | -4.37 ±0.29 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Longitude: | 141.02383452° | 0.88 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Latitude: | -5.74064167° | -4.46 mas/yr. |
Parallax: 12.83 ± 0.36 mas
Spectrography
Spectral Type: G4. III COMP 1955ApJ...121..653S.
Radial Velocity:
2.20 ±0.70 km/s [D rating]
2006AstL...32..759G.
This star is a spectroscopic binary with an unsolved orbit.
Iron Abundance [Fe/H]:
-0.10 dex
1990ApJS...74.1075M.
Photometry
| band | magnitude | Abs. Mag. |
| U | ||
| B | 4.69 | 0.23 |
| V | 3.93 | -0.53 |
| R | ||
| I | 3.22 | -1.24 |
| J | 2.69 | -1.77 |
| H | 2.31 | -2.15 |
| K | 2.20 | -2.26 |
B-V: +0.76 V-I: +0.71
Derivations
Heliocentric distance: 77.87 pc (2.8% margin of error)
Galactocentric distance: 7,460 pc
Transverse velocity: 1.7 km/s
3D heliocentric position and motion:
|
toward: |
Galactic center | Galactic rotation | North Galactic Pole |
| Position ( X, Y, Z) | -60.2 pc | 48.7 pc | -7.8 pc |
| Velocity (U, V, W) | -1.8 km/s | 1.0 km/s | -1.9 km/s |