Tau Centauri information

τ Centauri
	Location of τ Centauri (circled)
Observation data; Epoch J2000.0 Equinox J2000.0 (ICRS)
Constellation	Centaurus
Right ascension	12h 37m 42.16377s
Declination	−48° 32′ 28.6899″
Apparent magnitude (V)	+3.86
Characteristics
Spectral type	A0 V or A1 IVnn
U−B color index	+0.04
B−V color index	+0.06
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)	+5.5±2.3 km/s
Proper motion (μ)	RA: −186.26 mas/yr ; Dec.: −6.01 mas/yr
Parallax (π)	24.85 ± 0.53 mas
Distance	131 ± 3 ly ; (40.2 ± 0.9 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV)	+0.83
Details
Mass	2.31 M☉
Radius	2.2 R☉
Luminosity	42 L☉
Surface gravity (log g)	4.02±0.14 cgs
Temperature	10,533±358 K
Rotational velocity (v sin i)	296.8±3.8 km/s
Age	132 Myr
Other designations
	τ Cen, CD−47° 7745, HD 109787, HIP 61622, HR 4802, SAO 223560
Database references
SIMBAD	data

Tau Centauri, Latinized from τ Centauri, is a solitary^[11] star in the southern constellation of Centaurus. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of +3.86.^[2] The distance to this star, based upon an annual parallax shift of 24.85 mas,^[1] is 131 light years. There is a 98% chance that it is a co-moving companion of Gamma Centauri; the two stars have an estimated separation of 1.7 ly (0.53 pc).^[12]

This is an A-type star with stellar classifications of A0 V^[3] or A1 IVnn,^[4] indicating it may be a main sequence star or a more evolved subgiant star. It is around 132^[7] million years old and is spinning rapidly with a projected rotational velocity of 296.8^[9] km/s. This is giving the star an oblate shape, with an estimated equatorial girth that is 30% larger than the polar radius.^[13] The star has an estimated 2.3^[7] times the mass of the Sun and 2.2^[8] times the Sun's radius.

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^ Cite error: The named reference Shaya2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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[Gray2003-4] Cite error: The named reference Gray2003 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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[Diaz2011-9] Cite error: The named reference Diaz2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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[DeRosa2014-11] Cite error: The named reference DeRosa2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Shaya2011-12] Cite error: The named reference Shaya2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[belle2012-13] Cite error: The named reference belle2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

Observation data Epoch J2000.0 Equinox J2000.0 (ICRS)
Location of τ Centauri (circled)
Constellation	Centaurus
Right ascension	12^h 37^m 42.16377^s^[1]
Declination	−48° 32′ 28.6899″^[1]
Apparent magnitude (V)	+3.86^[2]
Characteristics
Spectral type	A0 V^[3] or A1 IVnn^[4]
U−B color index	+0.04^[2]
B−V color index	+0.06^[2]
Astrometry

Radial velocity (R_v)	+5.5±2.3^[5] km/s
Proper motion (μ)	RA: −186.26^[1] mas/yr Dec.: −6.01^[1] mas/yr
Parallax (π)	24.85 ± 0.53 mas^[1]
Distance	131 ± 3 ly (40.2 ± 0.9 pc)
Absolute magnitude (M_V)	+0.83^[6]

Details

Mass	2.31^[7] `M`_☉
Radius	2.2^[8] `R`_☉
Luminosity	42^[6] `L`_☉
Surface gravity (log g)	4.02±0.14^[7] cgs
Temperature	10,533±358^[7] K
Rotational velocity (v sin i)	296.8±3.8^[9] km/s
Age	132^[7] Myr

Other designations
τ Cen, CD−47° 7745, HD 109787, HIP 61622, HR 4802, SAO 223560^[10]
Database references
SIMBAD	data

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