Tau⁶ Eridani, Latinized from τ⁶ Eridani, is a single star in the

equatorial Equatorial may refer to something related to: *Earth's equator **the tropics, the Earth's equatorial region **tropical climate *the Celestial equator ** equatorial orbit **equatorial coordinate system ** equatorial mount, of telescopes * equatorial ...

constellation of Eridanus, located near the constellation border with

Fornax Fornax () is a constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere, partly ringed by the celestial river Eridanus. Its name is Latin for furnace. It was named by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1756. Fornax is one of the 88 modern ...

. It has a yellow-white hue with an

apparent visual magnitude Apparent magnitude () is a measure of the brightness of a star or other astronomical object observed from Earth. An object's apparent magnitude depends on its intrinsic luminosity, its distance from Earth, and any extinction of the object's lig ...

of 4.22, which is bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. Based upon parallax measurements, the distance to this star is around 57.5 light years. It is drifting further away with a radial velocity of +8 km/s. The

spectrum A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors ...

of Tau⁶ Eridani matches a stellar classification of F5IV-V, indicating it is an

F-type star An F-type main-sequence star (F V) is a main-sequence, hydrogen-fusing star of spectral type F and luminosity class V. These stars have from 1.0 to 1.4 times the mass of the Sun and surface temperatures between 6,000 and 7,600 K.Tables VII ...

that shows traits of both a main sequence star and a

subgiant A subgiant is a star that is brighter than a normal main-sequence star of the same spectral class, but not as bright as giant stars. The term subgiant is applied both to a particular spectral luminosity class and to a stage in the evolution ...

. It has an estimated 135% of the Sun's mass and about 1.8 time the radius of the Sun. The star is radiating 5.5 times the

luminosity of the Sun The solar luminosity (), is a unit of radiant flux ( power emitted in the form of photons) conventionally used by astronomers to measure the luminosity of stars, galaxies and other celestial objects in terms of the output of the Sun. One nominal ...

at an effective temperature of 6,508 K, and it does not display any surface

magnetic activity A stellar magnetic field is a magnetic field generated by the motion of conductive plasma inside a star. This motion is created through convection, which is a form of energy transport involving the physical movement of material. A localized mag ...

. The star has been examined for

infrared excess An infrared excess is a measurement of an astronomical source, typically a star, that in their spectral energy distribution has a greater measured infrared flux than expected by assuming the star is a blackbody radiator. Infrared excesses are oft ...

emission that could indicate the presence of circumstellar matter, but none has been detected.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tau6 Eridani F-type subgiants Eridanus (constellation) Eridani, Tau6 0155 Eridani, 27 023754 017651

1173 Year 1173 ( MCLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * January 5 – Bolesław IV (the Curly), High Duke of Poland, dies after a 27-year ...

Durchmusterung objects