Aldebaran

Also known as Aidebaren, Alpha Tauri, α Tauri, α Tau, 87 Tauri, 87 Tau, Parilicium, Cor Tauri

Aldebaran () is a star in the zodiac constellation of Taurus. It has the Bayer designation α Tauri, which is Latinized to Alpha Tauri and abbreviated Alpha Tau or α Tau. Aldebaran varies in brightness from an apparent visual magnitude of 0.75 down to 0.95, making it the brightest star in the constellation, as well as (typically) the fourteenth-brightest star in the night sky. It is at a distance of approximately 67 light-years. The star lies along the line of sight to the nearby Hyades cluster, but is unrelated and much older than the young cluster.

AI overview

Aldebaran is the brightest star in the constellation Taurus and typically ranks as the fourteenth-brightest star visible from Earth, located about 67 light-years away. Although it appears along the same line of sight as the nearby Hyades star cluster, Aldebaran is actually unrelated to that cluster and significantly older.

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Wikidata facts

Distance from Earth: 65.1
Image: Occultation.jpg

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catalog code: CCDM J04359+1631AB
declination: 16.509306
right ascension: 68.980167
Commons category: Aldebaran
spectral class: K5III/M2V
name: 87 Tau

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Article

15 sections

Contents

Etymology
Observation
Observational history
Physical characteristics
Companion
Visual companions
Planets
Etymology and mythology
Mythology
Names in other languages
In modern culture
See also
Notes
References
External links

Aldebaran is a red giant, meaning that it is cooler than the Sun with a surface temperature of , but its radius is about 45 times the Sun's, so it is over 400 times as luminous. As a giant star, it has moved off the main sequence on the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram after depleting its supply of hydrogen in the core. The star spins slowly and takes 520 days to complete a rotation.