Lesson plan
Phi Tauri
Phi Tauri (φ Tauri) is a solitary, orange-hued star in the zodiac constellation of Taurus. It has an apparent visual magnitude of +4.96, which indicates the star is faintly visible to the naked eye. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 10.16 mas as seen from Earth, it is located roughly 321 light years distant from the Sun. At that distance, the visual magnitude of the star is diminished by an extinction factor of 0.27 due to interstellar dust. This is an evolved, K-type giant star with a stellar classification of K1 III, currently (97% probability) on the red giant branch. It has an estimated 1.36 times the mass of the Sun and has expanded to 19 times the Sun's radius. At the age of roughly five billion years, it is radiating 131 times the Sun's luminosity from its inflated photosphere at an effective temperature of 4,479 K. Phi Tauri has a magnitude 7.51 visual companion located at an angular separation of 48.80 arc seconds along a position angle of 258°, as of 2015. The pair form a yellow and blue double that is visible in small telescopes. A fainter, magnitude 12.27 companion lies at a separation of 118.10 arc seconds along a position angle of 25°, as of 2001.
Article summary
Phi Tauri (φ Tauri) is a solitary, orange-hued star in the zodiac constellation of Taurus. It has an apparent visual magnitude of +4.96, which indicates the star is faintly visible to the naked eye. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 10.16 mas as seen from Earth, it is located roughly 321 light years distant from the Sun. At that distance, the visual magnitude of the star is diminished by an extinction factor of 0.27 due to interstellar dust. This is an evolved, K-type giant star with a stellar classification of K1 III, currently (97% probability) on the red giant branch. It has an estimated 1.36 times the mass of the Sun and has expanded to 19 times the Sun's radius. At the age of roughly five billion years, it is radiating 131 times the Sun's luminosity from its inflated photosphere at an effective temperature of 4,479 K. Phi Tauri has a magnitude 7.51 visual companion located at an angular separation of 48.80 arc seconds along a position angle of 258°, as of 2015. The pair form a yellow and blue double that is visible in small telescopes. A fainter, magnitude 12.27 companion lies at a separation of 118.10 arc seconds along a position angle of 25°, as of 2001.
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.