When is the best time to observe Tabit?

Tabit is best observed from October through December, with peak visibility during November when it transits around midnight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Where is Tabit located in the sky?

Tabit lies in the constellation Orion at right ascension 04h 50m and declination +06° 58′.

What telescope do I need to see Tabit?

At magnitude 3.2, Tabit is visible to the naked eye from dark skies, easy in any binoculars.

Tabit — Star in Orion

HIP 22449; Pi Orionis; 1 Orionis

Magnitude 3.2^m Star Orion (Ori) Visible

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About Tabit

Description

Tabit, Pi3 Orionis, is an F-type main-sequence star of spectral class F6 IV-V only 26.1 light-years away — one of the closer naked-eye stars to the Sun. It shines at magnitude 3.19 and has a mass of about 1.3 Suns. Tabit is a known triple-star system, though the companions are extremely faint red dwarfs at wide separations. The primary has been surveyed for exoplanets without confirmed detections.

Observing Tips

Tabit is the brightest of Orion's shield stars — the arc of fainter stars west of Betelgeuse representing Orion's raised shield. In binoculars Tabit appears crisp and yellow-white. Best observed November through March.

History

The name Tabit comes from the Arabic "al-thābit," meaning "the endurance" or "the fixed one" — possibly referencing the star's apparent steadiness. The IAU adopted the name in 2016.

Fun Facts

Tabit's proximity makes it a target for astrobiological studies: nearby F-type stars are of interest for habitable-zone investigations, with Tabit's zone at roughly 1.7 AU. Its companions are far too small to disrupt any terrestrial-zone planets that might exist.

Observe

1Physical Properties

Magnitude 3.19

Variable Type Delta Scuti (Pulsating)

Spectral Type F6IV-V subgiant

Star Color Yellow (B-V 0.45)

Distance 26 ly

2Position & Identifiers

RA 04h 49m 50.4s

Dec +06° 57' 41.0"

Constellation Orion (Ori)

HR 1543

HIP 22449

HD 30652

SAO 112106

Bayer Pi

Flamsteed 1 Ori

SIMBAD Wikipedia

3How easy to spot?

Equipment	Bortle 3	Bortle 4	Bortle 5
Naked eye Naked eye	Easy	Easy	Medium+
50 mm finder 50mm finder	Easy	Easy	Easy
150 mm telescope 150mm scope	Easy	Easy	Easy

Easy Medium Hard Very hard Impossible

Bortle 3 = rural · 4 = outer suburbs · 5 = suburbs

4Visibility

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Best season Oct – Dec (peak: Nov)

5Survey Image

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Spectral Classification

Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram

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Stellar Lifecycle

Blackbody Spectrum

Stellar Absorption Spectrum

Simulated absorption spectrum based on spectral type. Hover over lines to identify elements.

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15Stellar Notes

Variable Star

Delta Sct? Amp. 0.05V.

Double Star

Visual companion probably optical.

Alternative Names

Designated Tabit by Becvar but Allen gives Thabit as Burritt's name for an unlettered star on his atlas, the Upsilon | of Heis (HR 1855). The superscripts for Pi Ori adopted in the Harvard catalogues and taken over in the BS | correspond to the Heis atlas and Argelander's identifications of Flamsteed numbers. Very many old catalogues follow the | BAC. Heis superscripts 1,2,3,4 are respectively 4,2,1,3 in the BAC.