Tau Cancri
Scientific overview
Tau Cancri is a star in the constellation Cancer (Cancri), lying about 273.62 light-years from Earth.
Class G. Yellow stars like the Sun. On the main sequence they steadily fuse hydrogen into helium. Such stars have surface temperatures around 5,200–6,000 K and appear yellow to the eye.
Physical properties
| Spectral type | G8III |
| Luminosity class | III |
| Apparent magnitude | 5.42 |
| Absolute magnitude | 0.8 |
| Luminosity (Sun = 1) | 41.649 |
| Colour index (B−V) | 0.888 |
| Distance | 273.62 ly (83.89 pc) |
Values are real catalogue data; fields without a reliable value are omitted, never estimated.
Precision measurements
Astrometry and astrophysics from SIMBAD and Gaia DR3 · Gaia DR3 699345612094125440
| Parallax | 12.0346 ± 0.1007 mas | SIMBAD · measured |
| Distance | 82.8997 pc | Gaia · estimated |
| Proper motion (RA) | -32.199 mas/yr | SIMBAD · measured |
| Proper motion (Dec) | 2.64 mas/yr | SIMBAD · measured |
| Radial velocity | -13.938 ± 1.800e-3 km/s | SIMBAD · measured |
| Spectral type | G8III | SIMBAD · catalogued |
| Right ascension (ICRS) | 137 deg | SIMBAD · measured |
| Declination (ICRS) | 29.6542 deg | SIMBAD · measured |
Full field-level provenance
- Parallax: Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS) · SIMBAD · basic · plx_value · 2020yCat.1350....0G · direct catalogue measurement · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Distance: ESA Gaia astrometric survey · Gaia EDR3 · Bailer-Jones (2021) · external.gaiaedr3_distance · r_med_geo · row 699345612094125440 · Bayesian estimate · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Proper motion (RA): Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS) · SIMBAD · basic · pmra · 2020yCat.1350....0G · direct catalogue measurement · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Proper motion (Dec): Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS) · SIMBAD · basic · pmdec · 2020yCat.1350....0G · direct catalogue measurement · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Radial velocity: Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS) · SIMBAD · basic · rvz_radvel · 2018A&A...616A...7S · direct catalogue measurement · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Spectral type: Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS) · SIMBAD · basic · sp_type · 1952ApJ...116..122R · catalogue identifier/value · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Right ascension (ICRS): Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS) · SIMBAD · basic · ra · 2020yCat.1350....0G · direct catalogue measurement · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Declination (ICRS): Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS) · SIMBAD · basic · dec · 2020yCat.1350....0G · direct catalogue measurement · retrieved 2026-07-11
measured = direct catalogue value · estimated = Bayesian inference (Bailer-Jones distance) · modeled = model output (Gaia GSP-Phot). Fields a source did not provide are omitted, never invented.
Location in the sky
Knowledge connections
- In constellationCancer
Related stars in Cancer
Sources
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- HYG DatabaseHYG Database (Hipparcos + Yale Bright Star + Gliese), by D. Nash / astronexus
Aggregated, openly-licensed star catalogue combining Hipparcos, the Yale Bright Star Catalogue, and the Gliese Catalogue of Nearby Stars.
- HipparcosESA Hipparcos space astrometry mission
High-precision parallax, magnitude, and position for ~118,000 stars.