Location of τ Eridani (circled) | |
| Observation data Epoch J2000.0 Equinox J2000.0 (ICRS) | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Eridanus |
| Right ascension | 03 33 47.27613 |
| Declination | −21° 37′ 58.3830″ |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 4.26 |
| Characteristics | |
| Spectral type | B0 V + B9 V |
| U−B color index | 0.35 |
| B−V color index | −0.09 |
| Astrometry | |
| Proper motion (μ) | RA: +44.94 mas/yr Dec.: −28.16 mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 11.12 ± 0.21 mas |
| Distance | 293 ± 6 ly (90 ± 2 pc) |
| Absolute magnitude (MV) | −0.51 |
| Orbit | |
| Period (P) | 6.2236 d |
| Eccentricity (e) | 0.2 |
| Periastron epoch (T) | 2424446.548 JD |
| Argument of periastron (ω) (secondary) | 313° |
| Semi-amplitude (K1) (primary) | 107 km/s |
| Semi-amplitude (K2) (secondary) | 103 km/s |
| Details | |
| τ Eri A | |
| Mass | 3.30+0.24 −0.20 M☉ |
| Radius | 3.2 R☉ |
| Luminosity | 188 L☉ |
| Surface gravity (log g) | 4.00±0.15 cgs |
| Temperature | 12,514±425 K |
| Rotational velocity (v sin i) | 55±8 km/s |
| Age | 157+23 −45 Myr |
| τ Eri B | |
| Radius | 2.6 R☉ |
| Rotational velocity (v sin i) | 50±8 km/s |
| Other designations | |
| τ Eridani, τ Eri, 19 Eridani, BD-22° 628, HD 22203, HIP 16611, HR 1088, SAO 168634. | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
Tau Eridani, Latinized from τ Eridani, is a binary star system in the constellation Eridanus. It is visible to the naked eye with a combined apparent visual magnitude of 4.26. The distance to this system, as estimated using the parallax technique, is around 293 light years.
Tau Eridani is a double-lined spectroscopic binary system. The two stars orbit each other closely with a period of 6.2 days and an eccentricity of 0.2. On average, the two stars are separated by around 0.183 AU.
The primary component is a B-type main sequence star with a stellar classification of B0 V. It is around 157 million years old and is spinning with a projected rotational velocity of 55 km/s. The star has around 3.3 times the mass of the Sun and 3.2 times the Sun's radius. It radiates 188 times the solar luminosity from an outer atmosphere at an effective temperature of 12,514 K.
The secondary component has a stellar classification of B9 V. It is slightly smaller, with an estimated size equal to 2.6 times the radius of the Sun.
Although τ Eridani has no bright visual companion stars, the galaxy IC 1953 is less than 10' away. It is one of the brighter members of a loose group of galaxies called the Eridanus Group scattered around the components of τ Eridani.
References
- ^ van Leeuwen, F. (2007), "Validation of the new Hipparcos reduction", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 474 (2): 653–664, arXiv:0708.1752, Bibcode:2007A&A...474..653V, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20078357, S2CID 18759600.
- ^ Mermilliod, J.-C. (1986), "Compilation of Eggen's UBV data, transformed to UBV (unpublished)", Catalogue of Eggen's UBV Data, SIMBAD, Bibcode:1986EgUBV........0M.
- ^ Howe, K. S.; Clarke, C. J. (January 2009), "An analysis of v sin (i) correlations in early-type binaries", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 392 (1): 448–454, Bibcode:2009MNRAS.392..448H, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.14073.x.
- Anderson, E.; Francis, Ch. (2012), "XHIP: An extended hipparcos compilation", Astronomy Letters, 38 (5): 331, arXiv:1108.4971, Bibcode:2012AstL...38..331A, doi:10.1134/S1063773712050015, S2CID 119257644.
- ^ Pourbaix, D.; et al. (2004), "SB: The ninth catalogue of spectroscopic binary orbits", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 424 (2): 727–732, arXiv:astro-ph/0406573, Bibcode:2004A&A...424..727P, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20041213, S2CID 119387088.
- ^ Gullikson, Kevin; et al. (August 2016), "The Close Companion Mass-ratio Distribution of Intermediate-mass Stars", The Astronomical Journal, 152 (2): 13, arXiv:1604.06456, Bibcode:2016AJ....152...40G, doi:10.3847/0004-6256/152/2/40, S2CID 119179065, 40.
- ^ McDonald, I.; et al. (2012), "Fundamental Parameters and Infrared Excesses of Hipparcos Stars", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 427 (1): 343–57, arXiv:1208.2037, Bibcode:2012MNRAS.427..343M, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.21873.x, S2CID 118665352.
- ^ David, Trevor J.; Hillenbrand, Lynne A. (2015), "The Ages of Early-Type Stars: Strömgren Photometric Methods Calibrated, Validated, Tested, and Applied to Hosts and Prospective Hosts of Directly Imaged Exoplanets", The Astrophysical Journal, 804 (2): 146, arXiv:1501.03154, Bibcode:2015ApJ...804..146D, doi:10.1088/0004-637X/804/2/146, S2CID 33401607.
- "tau05 Eri". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
- van Rensbergen, W.; et al. (February 2006), "Evolution of interacting binaries with a B type primary at birth", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 446 (3): 1071–1079, Bibcode:2006A&A...446.1071V, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20053543.
