Taurus (constellation)
| Constellation | |
 | |
| Abbreviation | Tau |
|---|---|
| Genitive | Tauri |
| Pronunciation | |
| Symbolism | the Bull |
| Right ascension | 4.9 |
| Declination | 19 |
| Quadrant | NQ1 |
| Area | 797 sq. deg. (17th) |
| Main stars | 19 |
| Bayer/Flamsteed stars | 132 |
| Stars with planets | 7 candidates |
| Stars brighter than 3.00m | 4 |
| Stars within 10.00 pc (32.62 ly) | 1 |
| Brightest star | Aldebaran (α Tau) (0.85m) |
| Messier objects | 2 |
| Meteor showers | |
| Bordering constellations | |
| Visible at latitudes between +90° and −65°. Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of January. | |
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.
