Taurus Constellation: How to Find It, Stars, Hyades, Pleiades and Crab Nebula

By Alexander Merz · Updated on 2 October 2026 · Details checked on 28 October 2026

Taurus (the Bull) is a zodiac constellation of the winter sky: 797 square degrees in size, 17th largest of the 88, and its brightest star is the reddish Aldebaran (0.9 mag). The Sun passes through it from 14 May to 21 June, and in the night sky you can see it from October to April.

Taurus constellation at a glance: size, rank and neighbours

Taurus is one of the 48 classical constellations described by Ptolemy in the 2nd century. The figure shows only the front half of the animal: the head with the V of the Hyades, two long horns and the shoulder with the Pleiades.

Its size is remarkable: Taurus is a good third larger than Orion, yet looks smaller because its bright stars cluster tightly around Aldebaran. The horns reach as far as Auriga, and the two figures even share the tip of the northern horn.

Finding the Taurus constellation in the sky: via Orion to the Hyades V

You don’t have to hunt for Taurus if you know Orion. The three belt stars point like an arrow up and to the right, straight at the Bull’s face. It works best on a winter evening facing south.

• Step 1: Find the three equally bright belt stars of Orion between reddish Betelgeuse at the top left and bluish Rigel at the bottom right.
• Step 2: Extend the line of the belt up and to the right. After about 22°, a good two fists at arm’s length, you reach a flat V of stars – the Hyades. The orange star at its left end is Aldebaran.
• Step 3: Carry on 13.7° in almost the same direction. There you’ll see the small, glimmering knot of the Pleiades, the Bull’s shoulder.
• Step 4: From Aldebaran the two horns run up and to the left: Elnath (1.65 mag) is the upper tip, ζ Tauri the lower one. The Crab Nebula lies just 1.1° from ζ Tauri.

When can you see Taurus: visibility month by month

Taurus is a typical constellation of the winter half of the year. In October it rises in the east late in the evening, in January it stands high in the south at 10 pm, and in March it is already sinking in the west after dark.

For the table we calculated the altitude of Aldebaran and the Pleiades for London on the 15th of each month at 10 pm local time. The best months are December and January, when Taurus reaches its highest point in the late evening.

From mid-May to early July Taurus stays invisible, because the Sun itself is then in the constellation. On 31 May it passes almost exactly by Aldebaran. In early July the Pleiades and Aldebaran reappear in the east before sunrise.

Altitude table: how high Taurus climbs in your city

Because Taurus lies north of the celestial equator, it climbs high everywhere in the UK and Ireland. The maximum altitude is 90° minus your latitude plus the declination, i.e. a star’s distance from the celestial equator.

The brightest stars in Taurus: from Aldebaran to Lambda Tauri

Taurus has four stars brighter than magnitude 3; magnitude (mag) is the astronomical measure of brightness, and smaller numbers mean brighter stars. Almost all the stars in the V belong to the Hyades – except the brightest one.

Aldebaran: the red eye in the foreground

Aldebaran is a red giant, about 45 times the size of the Sun, and at 67 light-years it is not even half as far away as the Hyades it appears to sit in. The name comes from Arabic and means “the follower”, because it follows the Pleiades across the sky. Its colour, size and all the dates of its lunar occultations are on our page about Aldebaran.

Elnath: the star shared by Taurus and Auriga

Elnath (β Tauri) marks the tip of the northern horn. It used to count as γ Aurigae as well, belonging to Auriga at the same time; since the International Astronomical Union (IAU) drew fixed constellation boundaries in 1930, it officially belongs only to Taurus. Many star charts still draw it as a corner of the Auriga pentagon.

Lambda Tauri: a star that dims every four days

λ Tauri is an eclipsing binary: two stars orbit each other in such a way that one passes in front of the other every 3.95 days. Its brightness drops from 3.4 to 3.9 mag. With a little practice you can notice this with the naked eye by comparing λ with the Hyades stars nearby.

Theta and Sigma Tauri: double stars for binoculars

In the middle of the Hyades stands θ Tauri: two stars of 3.4 and 3.8 mag, 337 arcseconds apart, just under a fifth of the full Moon’s diameter. In clear air the pair looks elongated to the naked eye, and binoculars split it at once. The colour difference stands out: θ² shines white, θ¹ orange.

θ Tauri is not a true double star in the strict sense. The two lie several light-years one behind the other and do not orbit each other; they are two Hyades stars in almost the same line of sight. It’s the same with σ Tauri, a good 1° southeast of Aldebaran: 4.7 and 5.1 mag, about 7 arcminutes apart.

Hyades and Pleiades in Taurus: two star clusters for the naked eye

An open star cluster is a group of stars that formed together from one gas cloud and are still loosely bound. Taurus has two of them that you can see without any optical aid – and they could hardly be more different.

Hyades: one of the nearest star clusters of all

At 153 light-years the Hyades are one of the open star clusters closest to Earth; only the widely scattered Ursa Major Moving Group around the Plough is nearer. Four orange giants – γ, δ¹, ε and θ¹ Tauri – form the V together with white θ². A giant planet orbits ε Tauri, the first ever discovered in an open star cluster.

The V is so large that it doesn’t fit into any telescope field. Typical 10×50 binoculars with a field of a good 6° just about show it in full, with Aldebaran at the edge.

Pleiades: the Seven Sisters

The Pleiades, by contrast, are young and far away: 443 light-years distant and only about 100 to 125 million years old. With the naked eye you can make out six or seven stars in the shape of a tiny dipper, in binoculars dozens. Star names, the bluish Merope Nebula and photo tips are a topic of their own – here we stick to finding and observing them.

The Golden Gate of the Ecliptic

Between the Pleiades and the Hyades runs the ecliptic, the Sun’s apparent yearly path. The Pleiades lie about 4° north of it, Aldebaran 5.5° south – so the Moon and planets regularly pass right through this “Golden Gate”.

Crab Nebula and deep sky in Taurus: the targets for your telescope

Besides the two large clusters, Taurus has a handful of rewarding targets for binoculars and telescopes. The most famous is also the most difficult: the Crab Nebula M 1. Which objects are best placed in which season is shown in our deep-sky catalogue.

Crab Nebula M 1: the remnant of the supernova of 1054

On 4 July 1054, Chinese astronomers recorded a “guest star” near ζ Tauri. For 23 days it was even visible in the daytime sky, and it only disappeared from the night sky after almost two years.

What we see today is the remnant of this supernova: a gas cloud about 11 light-years across, expanding at around 1,500 km/s. At its centre a pulsar – a neutron star just under 30 km in diameter – spins about 30 times per second.

John Bevis discovered the nebula in 1731; Charles Messier came across it in 1758 and made it number 1 in his catalogue. It owes the name “Crab Nebula” to Lord Rosse, who in the 1840s thought he could see leg-like filaments. Its distance is uncertain: about 6,500 light-years, between roughly 4,900 and 8,100 depending on the measurement.

You’ll find M 1 1.1° northwest of ζ Tauri, the lower horn – that’s a good two full-Moon widths. At 8.4 mag and 7 × 5 arcminutes it appears in a 130 mm telescope as a pale, oval patch without structure. Under a city sky it often stays completely invisible, even in larger instruments.

NGC 1647: the binocular cluster next to Aldebaran

NGC 1647 lies a good 3.5° northeast of Aldebaran and at 6.4 mag is a rewarding binocular target: a loose swarm of about 90 stars spread over 40 arcminutes. It is about 1,800 light-years away and, at 150 million years, much younger than the Hyades. William Herschel added it to his catalogue in 1784.

NGC 1746 and NGC 1807/1817: appearance and reality

NGC 1746, a good 7° southwest of Elnath, was described as a star cluster by Heinrich Louis d’Arrest in 1863. Today it is regarded as an asterism, a chance grouping of stars with no physical connection. Within its field, however, lie two genuine, independent clusters: NGC 1750 and NGC 1758.

A good 8° east of Aldebaran, NGC 1807 and NGC 1817 lie just 25 arcminutes apart, so they fit together in a low-power eyepiece. At about 6,400 light-years, NGC 1817 is the more distant and richer of the two, an old cluster of around a billion years. Whether the two belong together is still an open question among experts.

Hind’s Variable Nebula and T Tauri: stars in the making

A good 1.6° west of ε Tauri lies T Tauri, the prototype of a whole class of very young stars. The triple system is less than a million years old and varies irregularly between 9.3 and 13.5 mag.

In 1852 John Russell Hind discovered a small nebula next to it that vanished in the 1860s and later reappeared. Hind’s Variable Nebula (NGC 1555) is lit by T Tauri and changes its brightness when dust shades the starlight. Visually it is very faint; realistically you need about 200 mm of aperture under a dark sky.

Binoculars or telescope for Taurus: what you really need

In Taurus a rule applies that is the other way round for most constellations: the finest objects are too big for a telescope. The Hyades fit into no eyepiece at all, the Pleiades only into a low-power eyepiece with a long focal length.

Binoculars with 10× magnification and 50 mm aperture show you the whole V, the Pleiades with dozens of stars, θ Tauri split and NGC 1647 as a swarm of stars. For getting started with the winter sky they are the best tool; what to look for when buying is explained in our guide to astronomy binoculars.

Binocular pick: 10×50 for the Hyades and Pleiades

Our binocular pick: Omegon Brightsky 10x50 Binoculars

Bright, high-contrast binoculars: perfect for the Moon, star clusters and Milky Way fields, handheld.

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A classic 10×50 with a 5 mm exit pupil that still gives a bright image under a slightly light-polluted sky. For steady views of the Pleiades a photo tripod with an adapter helps, because hand-held the stars shake visibly at 10× magnification.

When a telescope is still worth it

For the Crab Nebula, NGC 1817 and Hind’s Nebula you need aperture, i.e. the diameter of the main lens or mirror. From 130 mm, M 1 shows up under a dark sky as an oval nebula, and the same winter the Orion Nebula and the planets are on the programme too.

Telescope pick: the entry-level scope for the Crab Nebula

Our beginner pick: Skywatcher Dobson Telescope N 130/650 Heritage FlexTube

A compact tabletop Dobson with a true parabolic mirror. Folds down, fits in a bag: the Moon, planets and the bright deep-sky classics.

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130 mm of aperture on a tabletop mount, quick to set up and easy to take to a dark site. For M 1 this is the minimum, not the optimum – expect a pale patch, not filaments like in photos. More models are compared in our guide to the best beginner telescopes.

If you want more: the 200 mm Dobsonian for M 1 and Hind’s Nebula

For advanced observers: Skywatcher Dobson Telescope N 200/1200 Skyliner Classic

200 mm of aperture — the most sky for your money. Set it on the ground, point by hand: nebulae, clusters and galaxies for years to come.

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With 200 mm the Dobsonian gathers about 2.4 times as much light as the 130. The Crab Nebula then shows its irregular shape, NGC 1817 resolves into individual stars, and Hind’s Variable Nebula comes within reach at all. The extra cost pays off if you want to observe deep sky seriously and have room for a 1.2 m tube.

Lunar occultations in Taurus: Pleiades 2026/2027, Aldebaran from 2033

Because Taurus lies on the ecliptic, the Moon passes through the constellation every month. Since September 2023 a series of Pleiades occultations has been running, in which the Moon swallows individual Pleiades stars for minutes at a time; it ends in summer 2029. These dates can be seen in darkness from the UK and Ireland:

In Edinburgh, Belfast or Dublin the times shift by a few minutes, and not every star is occulted everywhere. In August 2027, for example, Atlas is also covered in Manchester, Scotland, Belfast and Dublin, while Maia is missed in Scotland, Belfast and Dublin. The occultation of Alcyone on 24 November 2026 unfortunately falls at midday.

The finest date is 13 March 2027: the thin crescent pushes its dark limb in front of the stars, and they vanish abruptly. With an almost full Moon, as in October 2026, binoculars help you see the fainter Pleiades next to the glaring lunar limb at all.

Taurids from Taurus: shooting stars in autumn

The Taurids are a long, quiet meteor shower. Their radiant, the point from which the shooting stars seem to come, wanders through Aries and Taurus and in early to mid-November lies just south of the Pleiades. There are two branches: the Southern Taurids come from comet 2P/Encke, the Northern ones probably from the asteroid 2004 TG10.

At about five meteors per hour the Taurids are no spectacle; the ZHR gives the rate under an ideal sky with the radiant at the zenith. Their reputation rests on fireballs: the particles are relatively large and, at 27 to 29 km/s, slow, which produces particularly bright, leisurely meteors.

In 2026 everything fits: new Moon falls on 9 November, so the peak of the Northern Taurids comes in a dark week. In 2027, by contrast, the full Moon on 14 November gets in the way; all showers with a Moon forecast are in our meteor shower calendar.

Zodiac sign Taurus vs. Taurus constellation: why the dates differ

In astrology the zodiac sign Taurus runs roughly from 20 April to 20 May. Astronomically, however, the Sun stands in the constellation Taurus from 14 May to 21 June, more than three weeks later.

The reason is precession: the Earth’s axis wobbles like a spinning top and shifts the vernal equinox point, the starting point of the zodiac, by about one degree every 72 years. Since antiquity this has added up to almost 30 degrees, a whole sign. On top of that, zodiac signs are equal 30-degree sections, while constellations are sky areas of different widths.

At a good 38 days, Taurus is one of the constellations where the Sun lingers longest – only in Virgo does it stay longer. Since 1990 the summer solstice point has also been in Taurus: on the longest day of the year the Sun stands in front of its stars and no longer in Gemini. The full comparison of all signs is in our overview Zodiac signs and constellations.

Mythology of the Taurus constellation: Zeus, Europa and the Bull of Heaven

In Greek myth Zeus turned himself into a snow-white bull to carry off the Phoenician princess Europa. He bore her on his back across the sea to Crete, where she gave birth to the future King Minos. The continent of Europe still bears her name today.

Only the front half of the Bull is visible in the sky. A popular interpretation: the rest is still under the sea, through which he is swimming with Europa.

The Hyades and the Pleiades are said to be daughters of the Titan Atlas. According to legend the Hyades, the “rainy ones”, weep for their dead brother Hyas; in Greece their appearance in the autumn sky coincided with the rainy season.

Much older is the Bull of Heaven of the Sumerians: in the Epic of Gilgamesh the goddess Ishtar sends it down to Earth, where Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill it. By today’s constellation boundaries, the vernal equinox point also lay in Taurus from about 4500 to 1900 BC, so the constellation heralded spring.

The Nebra sky disc very probably shows the Pleiades too: seven golden dots next to the Sun and a crescent Moon, about 3,600 years old.

Frequently asked questions about the Taurus constellation

Where is the Taurus constellation in the sky?

Taurus lies up and to the right of Orion. Extend the three belt stars up and to the right, and after about 22° you reach the V of the Hyades with orange Aldebaran. In January it stands high in the south at 10 pm.

When can you see the Taurus constellation?

In the evening sky from October to April, best in December and January. From mid-May to early July it is invisible because the Sun is in it.

What is the brightest star in the Taurus constellation?

Aldebaran (α Tauri) at 0.9 mag, a red giant 67 light-years away. It forms the Bull’s eye and is not a member of the Hyades, even though it seems to sit right in their V.

What does Taurus mean in Latin?

Taurus is Latin for bull, the genitive is Tauri – hence star names like Alpha Tauri. The official IAU abbreviation is Tau.

How many stars does the Taurus constellation have?

Under a very dark sky you can see about 140 stars down to magnitude 6 within the constellation boundaries. Only four are brighter than magnitude 3: Aldebaran, Elnath, Alcyone and ζ Tauri.

Is the zodiac sign Taurus the same as the Taurus constellation?

No. The zodiac sign is a fixed 30-degree section of the ecliptic and runs roughly from 20 April to 20 May. The Sun stands in the constellation Taurus from 14 May to 21 June.

What does the Taurus constellation represent in mythology?

In Greek myth it is Zeus in the form of a bull, who carried the princess Europa off to Crete. Thousands of years earlier, the Sumerians already saw in it the Bull of Heaven from the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Which star clusters are there in the Taurus constellation?

The two big ones are the Hyades and the Pleiades, both visible to the naked eye. Add to that NGC 1647 for binoculars, the pair NGC 1807/1817 for telescopes and the asterism NGC 1746, which only looks like a cluster.

Can you see the Crab Nebula with binoculars?

Hardly. Under a very dark sky 10×50 binoculars show at best a tiny, faint smudge next to ζ Tauri. M 1 only becomes reliable in a telescope of about 130 mm and up, and even then only as a pale nebula.

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