With an apparent visual magnitude of 5.66,[2] it is a faint naked eye that requires dark suburban skies for viewing.

Parallax measurements made during the Hipparcos mission yield a distance estimate of roughly 355 light-years (109 parsecs) from Earth.

[12] The stellar classification of τ1 Aquarii is B9 V;[3] right along the borderline between a B- and A-type main sequence star.

[13] It is around 100[9] million years old and is spinning rapidly with a projected rotational velocity of 185 km/s.

[8] It is radiating 63.5[7] times the luminosity of the Sun from its photosphere at an effective temperature of 10,617 K.[7] When examined in the infrared band, it displays an excess emission that is a characteristic of stars with an orbiting debris disk.