Taurus (constellation)

This article is about the astronomical constellation. For the astrological sign, see Taurus (astrology). For other uses, see Taurus (disambiguation).
Taurus
Constellation
Taurus
List of stars in Taurus
AbbreviationTau[1]
GenitiveTauri[1]
Pronunciation/ˈtɔːrəs/ TOR-əs;
genitive /ˈtɔːraɪ/ TOR-eye[1][2]
Symbolismthe Bull[1]
Right ascension4.9h [3]
Declination19°[3]
QuadrantNQ1
Area797 sq. deg. (17th)
Main stars19
Bayer/Flamsteed
stars		132
Stars with planets9 candidates[a]
Stars brighter than 3.00m4
Stars within 10.00 pc (32.62 ly)1[b]
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.

Taurus (Latin, 'Bull') is one of the constellations of the zodiac and is located in the northern celestial hemisphere. Taurus is a large and prominent constellation in the Northern Hemisphere's winter sky. It is one of the oldest constellations, dating back to the Early Bronze Age at least, when it marked the location of the Sun during the spring equinox. Its importance to the agricultural calendar influenced various bull figures in the mythologies of Ancient Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Its old astronomical symbol is (♉︎), which resembles a bull's head.

A number of features exist that are of interest to astronomers. Taurus hosts two of the nearest open clusters to Earth, the Pleiades and the Hyades, both of which are visible to the naked eye. At first magnitude, the red giant Aldebaran is the brightest star in the constellation. In the northeast part of Taurus is Messier 1, more commonly known as the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant containing a pulsar. One of the closest regions of active star formation, the Taurus-Auriga complex, crosses into the northern part of the constellation. The variable star T Tauri is the prototype of a class of pre-main-sequence stars.

  1. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference iau was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference merriam-webster was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference jha33_113_313 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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