Taurus (constellation)

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Taurus
Constellation
Taurus
AbbreviationTau
GenitiveTauri
Pronunciation
Symbolismthe Bull
Right ascension4.9
Declination19
QuadrantNQ1
Area797 sq. deg. (17th)
Main stars19
Bayer/Flamsteed
stars
132
Stars with planets7 candidates
Stars brighter than 3.00m4
Stars within 10.00 pc (32.62 ly)1
Brightest starAldebaran (α Tau) (0.85m)
Messier objects2
Meteor showers
Bordering
constellations
Visible at latitudes between +90° and −65°.
Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of January.
Map of the constellation

Taurus is a constellation in the northern sky. "Taurus" means "bull" in Latin. It is a constellation of the zodiac, which means that it crosses the ecliptic. The astronomer named Ptolemy listed Taurus when he made a list of 48 constellations. It is one of the 88 modern constellations that were made by the International Astronomical Union.

The star clusters Pleiades and Hyades are in Taurus. Taurus also contains the Crab Nebula, which is a supernova remnant. The brightest star in Taurus is a red giant star called Aldebaran.

References[change | change source]