Tau1 Lupi

Tau1 Lupi

A light curve for Tau1 Lupi, plotted from TESS data
Observation data
Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0 (ICRS)
Constellation Lupus
Right ascension 14h 26m 08.22424s
Declination −45° 13 17.1315
Apparent magnitude (V) 4.546
Characteristics
Spectral type B2 IV
B−V color index −0.146
Variable type β Cep
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)−21.5±2.8 km/s
Proper motion (μ) RA: −13.09 mas/yr
Dec.: −14.67 mas/yr
Parallax (π)2.99±0.21 mas
Distance1,090 ± 80 ly
(330 ± 20 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV)−3.05
Details
Mass9.98±0.63 M
Radius7.1 R
Luminosity3,831 L
Luminosity (bolometric)11,321 L
Temperature15,273 K
Metallicity [Fe/H]−0.39±0.16 dex
Rotational velocity (v sin i)30 km/s
Age20.8±0.9 Myr
Other designations
τ1 Lup, CD−44°9322, FK5 1377, HD 126341, HIP 70574, HR 5395, SAO 224919
Database references
SIMBADdata

Tau1 Lupi, Latinized from τ1 Lupi, is a solitary star in the southern constellation of Lupus. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.5. Based upon an annual parallax shift of only 2.99 mas as seen from Earth, it is located about 1,090 light years from the Sun. Tau1 Lupi may be a runaway star having a peculiar velocity of 32.6±3.6 km/s. It is a member of the Upper Centaurus–Lupus sub-group of the nearby Sco OB2 association.

This is a B-type subgiant star with a stellar classification of B2 IV. It was determined to be a Beta Cephei variable based on observations during 1955 at the Cape Observatory. Tau1 Lupi shows a steady period of 0.17736934 days, corresponding to a frequency of 5.637953 cycles per day, with an amplitude of 0.035 in visual magnitude. It has around 10 times the mass of the Sun and 7 times the Sun's radius.

The star shows an infrared excess, which is unusual for a non-emission star of this class. The inner edge of the dust lies at a distance of 980 AU from the star with a temperature of 190 K, and it extends outward to as much as 50,000 AU where the temperature drops to 40 K. This optically thin dust is not related to the pulsational behavior of the star.