Winter Constellations Spotlight: Taurus

The brightest star in Taurus, magnificent Aldebaran is an orange-red giant. Also known as Alpha Tauri, Aldebaran is the thirteenth-most luminous star in the night sky, with a magnitude of +0.90. It lies 65 light-years away and has a faint red dwarf companion, Aldebaran B, only visible in large telescopes. Aldebaran appears to be a member of the Hyades star cluster, but it is a foreground star located about halfway between the cluster and Earth.

Also known as Beta Tauri, is a hot blue-white star that marks the northern horn of Taurus and links with the constellation Auriga. In Arabic, "El Nath" translates to "the butting one." It is the second brightest star in both Taurus and Auriga at magnitude +1.67, behind Aldebaran and Capella. Elnath is 4.5 times more massive and almost 700 times more luminous than our Sun. It lies approximately 134 light-years from Earth.

This unmistakable V-shaped open cluster of stars forms the Bull's face. It is one of the nearest open clusters to our Solar System, about 153 light-years away. You can easily spot the Hyades with your naked eye, but it makes an ideal binocular target. In mythology, the Hyades were half-sisters of the Pleiades, and their parents were Atlas and Aethra. 

Also known as the Seven Sisters, the Pleiades is the most famous open star cluster in Taurus, if not the entire sky. Also known as Messier 45, the Pleiades is located on the shoulder of the Bull and resembles a “mini Little Dipper." The seven brightest stars are Alcyone, Merope, Celaeno, Taygeta, Sterope, Electra, and Maia, the daughters of Atlas. Under dark skies, the naked eye can see about a dozen Pleiades stars, while binoculars can reveal up to 100 stars. The cluster may contain up to 1,000 stars in total. The Subaru car company's logo depicts the Pleiades star cluster, which in Japan is called "Subaru," meaning "unite" or "come together."

NGC 1647 is an open star cluster containing approximately 90 stars located 1,800 light-years from Earth. William Herschel discovered this cluster in 1784. With a magnitude of +6.4, this cluster is visible in binoculars as a fuzzy patch of light, but an 8" telescope at low power frames it nicely, making it a popular target for amateur astronomers. NGC 1647 is located behind the Taurus Dark Nebula complex.

This target is a favorite among telescope observers for its bright stars arranged in a striking cluster. Recent studies, however, have revealed it to be a random grouping of stars, now classified as an asterism. With a magnitude of +6.1, it is easily observed through binoculars. Located near the celestial equator, NGC 1746 is visible from both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres at specific times of the year.

The Crab Nebula, a captivating remnant of a supernova, lies near the lower horn of Taurus, Zeta Tauri, about 6,500 light-years from Earth. This iconic supernova explosion, first recorded by Chinese astronomers in 1054 AD, has become one of the most famous in history. At its center is the Crab Pulsar, a neutron star that emits pulses of radiation across the spectrum, from gamma rays to radio waves. Spanning roughly 11 light-years and expanding at an incredible 1,500 kilometers per second, the nebula showcases the dynamic aftermath of a stellar explosion. Its name originated from a sketch by English astronomer Lord Rosse in the 1840s, who thought its appearance resembled a crab while observing it through his 36-inch telescope. With a magnitude of +8.39, the Crab Nebula is a stunning telescopic target, especially under dark skies.

This annual meteor shower lights up the sky from late September to early December, peaking around the first week of November. Linked to the periodic comet 2P/Encke, the Southern Taurids are a minor shower but produce bright, slow-moving meteors that radiate from the southern part of the Taurus constellation. The best time to catch this celestial display is around midnight when Taurus is at its highest.

The second stream of the Taurid meteor shower graces the skies from mid-October to early December, peaking in mid-November. Known for their slow-moving meteors and occasional bright fireballs, often called "Halloween fireballs," the Northern Taurids originate from debris left by comet 2P/Encke. Look up around midnight for optimal viewing when Taurus is prominently positioned in the sky.