Taurus
The bull with a fiery red eye
Best on December–February evenings · northern sky.
Taurus is one of the oldest recognized constellations, charging across the winter sky with a distinct V-shaped face and a tight little cluster of stars on its shoulder. It sits between Aries to the west and Gemini to the east, and its brightest star is one of the most unmistakably colored in the entire sky.
How to find it
Best seen on winter evenings from the northern hemisphere. Start at Orion's Belt and drift northwest — the first bright, distinctly orange-red star you hit is Aldebaran, the bull's eye. The V-shaped group around it, called the Hyades, traces the bull's face, and the Pleiades cluster sits a fist-width further along the same line on the bull's shoulder.
Brightest stars
Aldebaran dominates at magnitude 0.85, a deep orange-red giant that makes it look genuinely different from its neighbors even at a glance. Elnath, at magnitude 1.65, marks the tip of the northern horn and is the second brightest star in the constellation.
Worth seeing
The Pleiades — marked by Alcyone at magnitude 2.87 and Atlas at 3.63 among others — is the naked-eye showpiece: a tight knot of blue-white stars that rewards slow, patient looking, with most people counting six or seven on a clear night.
Frequently asked
When is Taurus visible?
Winter evenings, roughly December through February, when it rides high in the northern sky. Southern hemisphere observers can also see it, though it sits lower on the horizon.
What are the brightest stars in Taurus?
Orange-red Aldebaran leads at magnitude 0.85, followed by Elnath at 1.65 on the tip of the northern horn, then Alcyone at 2.87 in the Pleiades cluster.
Is Taurus a northern or southern constellation?
Taurus sits in the northern sky and is best seen from the northern hemisphere, though it's visible from most of the southern hemisphere as well during the summer months there.
Nearby constellations
Orion · Aries · Auriga · Perseus · Eridanus · Gemini · Cetus · Canis Major