Constellation, Bull
Taurus
The bull of the zodiac, charging at Orion with lowered horns. Its face is the V-shaped Hyades, the red star Aldebaran is its eye, and the Pleiades ride on its back.
From New York on October 13, 2026, the centre of Taurus rises at 8:51 PM, is highest at 3:59 AM (68° above the horizon in the S) and sets at 11:08 AM.
In the 3D sky
The sky over New York turned towards Taurus. Drag to look around.
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Evening visibility over the year
Height of the constellation’s centre above the horizon at 10 pm local time on the 15th of each month, from New York. Above about 30° it is well placed.
Name and history
In the most common Greek story, Taurus is Zeus in disguise. He took the shape of a beautiful white bull and mingled with the cattle of King Agenor of Phoenicia on the shore where the king’s daughter Europa played. Europa garlanded his horns with flowers and climbed onto his back. The bull swam out to sea and carried her to Crete, where Zeus revealed himself. Their sons included Minos, king of Crete. In another version the figure is Io, whom Zeus turned into a heifer. Only the front half of the bull appears in the sky, as if the rest were under water.
The bull’s face is the Hyades, said to be daughters of Atlas who wept for their dead brother Hyas. On its back sit the Pleiades, the Seven Sisters, daughters of Atlas and Pleione, chased across the sky by Orion. Aldebaran comes from the Arabic for ‘the follower’, because it follows the Pleiades. Near one horn lies the Crab Nebula, remains of a star whose explosion was seen in AD 1054.
Sources: Ian Ridpath, Star Tales: Taurus, Ian Ridpath, Star Tales: Taurus (part 2)
Brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aldebaran | α Tau | 0.87 | 67 light-years |
| Elnath | β Tau | 1.65 | 134 light-years |
| Alcyone | η Tau | 2.85 | 403 light-years |
| Tianguan | ζ Tau | 2.97 | 445 light-years |
| Chamukuy | θ2 Tau | 3.40 | 150 light-years |
| Bibing | λ Tau | 3.41 | 484 light-years |
| Ain | ε Tau | 3.53 | 147 light-years |
| ο Tau | ο Tau | 3.61 | 291 light-years |
| Atlas | 27 Tau | 3.62 | 382 light-years |
| Prima Hyadum | γ Tau | 3.65 | 162 light-years |
Facts
| Area | about 800 square degrees (17 of 88) |
|---|---|
| IAU abbreviation | Tau |
| Sky | Northern sky |
| Origin | One of the 48 constellations listed in Ptolemy’s Almagest, about AD 150 |
| Stars brighter than magnitude 5 | 49 |
| Centre (J2000) | 4.6 h, 18° |
Deep-sky objects
Galaxies, clusters and nebulae brighter than magnitude 9, from the OpenNGC catalogue. Most need binoculars or a telescope and a dark sky.
| Object | Type | Magnitude |
|---|---|---|
| NGC1746 | Open cluster | 6.1 |
| NGC1647 | Open cluster | 6.4 |
| NGC1807 | Open cluster | 7.0 |
| NGC1817 | Open cluster | 7.7 |
| M1 · Crab Nebula | Supernova remnant | 8.4 |
Boundaries: International Astronomical Union, via Astronomy Engine. Areas are computed from the boundaries by sampling (within about one percent). Names and lines: Stellarium. Stars: HYG Database. Deep-sky objects: OpenNGC. Calculated with Astronomy Engine, an open-source library verified against the US Naval Observatory and NASA JPL. Data sources
How to use this page
Choose your place and a night at the top. The answer and the 3D view show where the constellation is, when it is highest and whether it rises at all from where you are. The chart shows its stars and lines, and the tables list its brightest stars and the deep-sky objects inside it.
Frequently asked questions
When is a constellation best seen?
When it is highest in a dark sky, which the page gives for the night you pick. Each constellation is best placed in a particular season, because the stars rise about four minutes earlier every night.
Why can I not see a constellation from my place?
Constellations far south of the celestial equator never rise from northern places, and those far north never rise from southern ones. The page says when this is the case.
What are the constellation boundaries?
The International Astronomical Union divides the sky into 88 areas with official boundaries. The stick figures are only a drawing aid, the boundaries say which constellation a point in the sky belongs to.
Related guides
- How to learn the constellationsStart with one bright pattern you cannot miss, use it as a signpost to its neighbours, and come back a month later: the sky will have turned, and you will know a little more of it.
- Altitude and azimuth: finding things in the skyTwo angles tell you exactly where to look: which direction, and how high.
- Light pollution and dark skies: the Bortle scaleFrom a city centre you can count a few dozen stars. From a truly dark site you can count a few thousand, with the Milky Way bright enough to cast a shadow. The Bortle scale puts a number on the difference.
- Binoculars for stargazing: what to buy and what to look atA pair of 7x50 or 10x50 binoculars shows the craters of the Moon, the moons of Jupiter, dozens of star clusters and the Andromeda Galaxy, for a fraction of the cost of a telescope.