Hyades Star Cluster: Face of Taurus

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Hyades star cluster: Face of Taurus
Bruce McClure in FAVORITE STAR PATTERNS | January 31, 2019

Meet the bright star Aldebaran, part of a V-shaped pattern of stars called the Hyades. This easy-to-find star cluster represents the face of Taurus the Bull.


The Hyades. Copyright Jerry Lodriguss/AstroPix.com

With the exception of the Ursa Major Moving Cluster, the Hyades cluster is the closest star cluster to Earth, at a distance of 150 light-years. This cluster is very easy to spot in the night sky, because it has a compact and distinctive shape of the letter V. The bright star Aldebaran is part of the V.

The V shape represents the Face of the Bull in the constellation Taurus. Aldebaran represents the Bull’s fiery red eye.

The brightest star in the V is Aldebaran. The small dipper-shaped
Pleiades star cluster is nearby.



Here are Orion, the bright star Aldebaran in Taurus, and the Pleiades. Notice
the three stars of Orion’s Belt, that is, three stars in a short row. Notice that
these stars point to Aldebaran.

The Hyades cluster is easy to find by using Orion’s Belt, a compact and noticeable line of three blue-white stars in the constellation Orion the Hunter. Draw a line westward (generally toward your sunset direction) through the Belt stars, and you will come to the bright reddish star Aldebaran, the Bull’s fiery red eye.