Tau Ceti, a yellow main-sequence star in Cetus
Tau Ceti is a yellow main-sequence star in the constellation Cetus. At 11.9 light years away, it is the 280th brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 3.49.
Tau Ceti (HIP 8102)
Tau Ceti is a yellow main-sequence star in the constellation Cetus. At 11.9 light years away, it is the 280th brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 3.49. The star's age is estimated to be 300 million years but is certainly no greater than 7.9 billion years. The iron abundance of Tau Ceti is -0.48 (33.1% of the Sun). It is moving through the Galaxy at a speed of 37.2 km/s relative to the Sun. Its projected Galactic orbit carries it between 23,600 and 71,800 light years from the center of the Galaxy. Tau Ceti has no confirmed planets to date (early 2012), but does have a circumstellar debris disk.
Sky position: RA 1h 44.1m, Dec -15° 56.4'
Common designations: Tau Ceti, 52 Ceti, HIP 8102, HD 10700, Gliese 71.0
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Brightest stars in Cetus:
(list all)
| Rank | Mag. | Star |
| 1 | 2.04 | Diphda |
| 2 | 2.54 | Alpha Ceti |
| 3 | 3.46 | Dheneb |
| 4 | 3.47 | Kaffaljidhma |
5
| 3.49
) Tau Ceti
| Rank | Mag. | Star |
| 6 | 3.56 | Deneb Kaitos Shemali |
| 7 | 3.60 | Theta Ceti |
| 8 | 3.74 | Baten Kaitos |
| 9 | 3.99 | Upsilon Ceti |
| 10 | 4.08 | Delta Ceti |
| 11 | 4.24 | Pi Ceti |
| 12 | 4.27 | Mu Ceti |
| 13 | 4.30 | Xi-2 Ceti |
| 14 | 4.36 | Xi-1 Ceti |
| 15 | 4.44 | 7 Ceti |
| 16 | 4.55 | 2 Ceti |
| 17 | 4.66 | Chi Ceti |
Hover over other bright stars to identify or click to jump.
Galactic Orbit of Tau Ceti
(compared to the Sun)
E
ccentricity: 50.6% vs. 16.0%Angle φ : 21.7°vs. 26.0°
Semi-major axis : 14,626 pc vs. 8,686 pc
Semi-minor axis: 12,615 pc vs. 8,574 pc
Focus-to-center
: 7,402 pcvs. 1,388 pcSemilatus rectum : 10,881 pc vs. 8,464 pc
Perigalacticon: 7,225 pc vs. 7,297 pc
Apogalacticon
: 22,028 pcvs. 10,074 pcSome Tabulated XHIP Data for Tau Ceti
(see also: SIMBAD)
Astrometry
2007A&A...474..653V
| Position | Proper Motion | |
| Right Ascension: | 26.02136459° ±0.14 mas | -1,721.05 ±0.18 mas/yr. |
| Declination: | -15.93955572° ±0.13 mas | 854.16 ±0.15 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Longitude: | 173.11617340° | -1,817.59 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Latitude: | -73.43821329° | -622.88 mas/yr. |
Parallax: 273.96 ± 0.17 mas
Spectrography
Spectral Type: G8.5V 2006AJ....132..161G.
Radial Velocity: -16.62 ±0.10 km/s [A rating] 2002ApJS..141..503N, 2005ApJS..159..141V.
Iron Abundance [Fe/H]:
-0.48 ±0.01 dex
2011A&A...530A.138C, 2011A&A...525A..71W, 2008A&A...487..373S, 2008A&A...480...91S, 2007A&A...465..271R, 2006MNRAS.370..163B, 2006AJ....131.3069L, 2005PASJ...57...27T, 2005ApJS..161..444T, 2005ApJS..159..141V, 2005AJ....129.1063L, 2004AN....325....3F, 2004A&A...420..183A, 2004A&A...415.1153S, 2003ARep...47..422M, 2003AJ....126.2015H, 2001A&A...373.1019S, 2001A&A...370..951M, 1999MNRAS.305..693C, 1999ApJ...523..234T, 1998A&A...338..623M, 1989A&A...214..239B, 1989A&A...208..171G, 1988A&A...206..100A, 1986A&A...160..264F.
Photometry
| band | magnitude | Abs. Mag. |
| U | ||
| B | 4.22 | 6.41 |
| V | 3.49 | 5.68 |
| R | ||
| I | 2.67 | 4.86 |
| J | 2.15 | 4.34 |
| H | 1.80 | 3.99 |
| K | 1.79 | 3.98 |
B-V: +0.73 V-I: +0.82
Derivations
Heliocentric distance: 3.65 pc (0.1% margin of error)
Galactocentric distance: 7,401 pc
Transverse velocity: 33.2 km/s
3D heliocentric position and motion:
|
toward: |
Galactic center | Galactic rotation | North Galactic Pole |
| Position ( X, Y, Z) | -1.0 pc | 0.1 pc | -3.5 pc |
| Velocity (U, V, W) | 18.7 km/s | 29.4 km/s | 12.9 km/s |