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Taurus (constellation)
zodiac constellation straddling the celestial equator / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
Quick Facts Abbreviation, Genitive ...
Constellation | |
![]() List of stars in Taurus | |
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 |
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Bordering constellations | |
Visible at latitudes between +90° and −65°. Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of January. |
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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.