Taurus (constellation)
zodiac constellation straddling the celestial equator
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.
| 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. | |
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.
