Tau Centauri is a solitary star in the southern constellation of Centaurus. Its name is a Bayer designation that is Latinized from τ Centauri, and abbreviated Tau Cen or τ Cen. This star is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of +3.86. The distance to this star, based upon an annual parallax shift of 24.3 mas, is 131 light years. It makes a star system with Gamma Centauri at 98% probability, both separated by 1.7 ly (0.53 pc).