Constellations · Constellation · Tauri · Tau
Constellation
Taurus
The bull Zeus became to carry off Europa. Its fiery eye is Aldebaran, and on its shoulder ride the Pleiades.
- Genitive
- Tauri
- Area
- 797 square degrees · 17th of 88
- Brightest star
- Aldebaran · magnitude 0.87
- Naked-eye stars
- 224 brighter than magnitude 6.5
- Highest at midnight
- mid November
Look for
The V of Taurus is the bull’s face — the Hyades, one of the nearest star clusters. Aldebaran only looks like a member: it is less than half as far away.
Look for
The Pleiades are the most famous star cluster on Earth. Most people see six stars; count how many you can.
History
At the tip of the southern horn is the Crab Nebula, wreckage of a star seen to explode in 1054 — visible in daylight, Chinese astronomers recorded, for 23 days.