Blue-white giant · Taurus

Electra

Also known as: 17 Tauri (17 Tau), HIP 17499

mag 3.7410 light-years

About

Electra (17 Tauri) is a blue-white giant of magnitude 3.7 in Taurus, about 410 light-years away.

Electra is in the constellation Taurus.
Best evenings: around early January it is highest at about 9 pm (10 pm in summer time); a month earlier, two hours later.
Where on Earth: it is seen well, at least 10° up, from north of 56° S.

When it rises and sets tonight, how high it climbs and how much the Moon gets in the way are worked out in your browser for your place.

EyesVisible from the suburbs on a clear night, but lost in bright city skies.
Binoculars (10×50)A sharp point; binoculars bring out its colour and the fainter stars around it.
Telescope (6–8 inch)Still a point of light at any magnification — stars are too far away to show a disc. Low in the sky, bright stars twinkle and flash colours.

Stars look the same in any instrument: brighter and sharper, but never bigger.

Proper name	Electra
Designation	17 Tauri (17 Tau)
Hipparcos number	HIP 17499
Type	Blue-white giant
Spectral type	B6III
Colour	WhiteB−V colour index −0.10
Magnitude	3.7The smaller the number, the brighter.
Distance	410 light-yearsThe light you see left it around 1620.
Proper motion	0.050″ per year across the sky
Constellation	Taurus
Right ascension (J2000)	03h 44m 52.5s
Declination (J2000)	+24° 06′ 48″