Bright stars · Taurus

Aldebaran

Alpha Tauri

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Details

Magnitude

0.85

Spectral type

K5III

Bayer

Alpha Tauri

Distance

65.3 ly

The 'eye of the Bull' — an orange giant in Taurus.

Beginner

What is it?

Aldebaran is a red-giant star about 65 light-years away, marking the bright eye of Taurus. It appears to be part of the V-shaped Hyades cluster in the sky, but is actually a foreground star.

What will I see?

Naked eye

A distinctly orange-warm star at the eye of the Taurus V-shape. The Pleiades sit nearby to the upper right.

Reference imagery from long-exposure photography usually shows far more colour and structure than the human eye can see through a telescope.

Interesting facts

About 65 light-years away.
Roughly 44 times the Sun's diameter.