- Stars with a name
- Aldebaran
Aldebaran
α Tauri
Aldebaran is an orange giant, in the constellation Taurus. The light you see from it tonight left it around 1959.
Where to find it
From mid-northern latitudes, such as New York, Rome or Tokyo, it is best seen in the evening sky in January, February, November, and December.
Bright enough to see even from a city. Apparent magnitude 0.87.
What it’s like
It gives off 163 times as much light as the Sun.
Its surface is at about 3,700 degrees.
It is 66.6 light years away: 630 trillion kilometres.
It is the star of people born around 1959: the light that left it then is reaching Earth now.