Yellow-white main-sequence star · Tucana

ζ Tucanae

Also known as: ζ Tuc, HIP 1599

mag 4.228 light-years

About

ζ Tucanae is a yellow-white main-sequence star of magnitude 4.2 in Tucana, about 28 light-years away.

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How to find it

  • ζ Tucanae is in the constellation Tucana.
  • Best evenings: around early November 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 south of 15° N.

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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.

What you will see

  • 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.

Facts

Designationζ Tucanae (ζ Tuc)
Hipparcos numberHIP 1599
TypeYellow-white main-sequence star
Spectral typeF9V
ColourYellowB−V colour index 0.58
Magnitude4.2The smaller the number, the brighter.
Distance28 light-yearsThe light you see left it around 1998.
Proper motion2.07″ per year across the sky
ConstellationTucana
Right ascension (J2000)00h 20m 02.9s
Declination (J2000)−64° 52′ 29″

Sources and credits

Star data: HYG Database by David Nash, CC BY-SA 4.0. All data sources →