Taurus
A zodiac constellation whose V-shaped face is anchored by orange Aldebaran, with two famous clusters hanging from its horns: the Pleiades and the Hyades. It is one of the oldest constellations, recorded on Babylonian tablets.
Star chart · schematic positions
Drag to pan · dashed rings mark deep-sky objects · east is left
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Tap any labelled star in the chart to read its name, magnitude and spectral type.
Why it matters
Taurus points along the plane of the Milky Way and holds the Crab Nebula, the remnant of a supernova recorded by Chinese astronomers in 1054. The Hyades is the nearest open cluster to the Sun, while the Pleiades is the sky's most famous naked-eye cluster.
How to find it tonight
- 1Start at Orion's belt and follow its line up-right to orange Aldebaran — that is the Bull's eye.
- 2Aldebaran sits at the tip of a V of stars: the Hyades cluster, spanning about 5° across.
- 3Continue past the V to the small, tight cluster of the Pleiades — it looks like a tiny dipper.
- 4Look for the two horn tips: Elnath high to the north, and ζ Tauri low to the south-east.
Brightest stars on the chart
Aldebaran (α Tauri) · Elnath (β Tauri) · Tianguan (ζ Tauri) · Hyadum II (θ² Tauri)
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Figures are rounded averages from NASA, ESA and IAU reference data. Star positions on charts are schematic and approximate.