Tau Orionis

Tau Orionis

Observation data Epoch {{{epoch}}}      Equinox
Constellation	Orion
Right ascension	05h 17m 08.28s
Declination	−06° 50′ 39.8″
Apparent magnitude (V)	3.59
Characteristics
Spectral type	B5III
Astrometry
Distance	555 ly
Other designations
20 Orionis, HD 34503, HIP 24674, SAO 131952, BD−07°1028
Database references
SIMBAD	data

Tau Orionis (τ Ori, τ Orionis) is a star in the constellation Orion.

This star, along with β Eri, λ Eri and ψ Eri were Al Kursiyy al Jauzah, "the Chair (or "Footstool") of the Central One"

According to the catalogue of stars in the Technical Memorandum 33-507 - A Reduced Star Catalog Containing 537 Named Stars, Al Kursiyy al Jauzah were the title for three stars: β Eri as Cursa, ψ Eri as Al Kursiyy al Jauzah I and λ Eri as Al Kursiyy al Jauzah II (exclude this star)

In Chinese, 玉井 (Yù Jǐng), meaning Jade Well, refers to an asterism consisting of τ Orionis, β Eridani, λ Eridani and ψ Eridani. Consequently, τ Orionis itself is known as 玉井四 (Yù Jǐng sì, English: the Fourth Star of Jade Well.). From this Chinese name, the name Yuh Tsing was appeared

Properties

Tau Orionis has an apparent magnitude of 3.59, meaning it is visible to the naked eye, and belongs to the spectral class B5III. If an imaginary line is drawn north-west between the stars Rigel and Mintaka, Tau Orionis can be found roughly one-sixth of the way to Mintaka.