Click on the objects on the map to see a description and photo of it IMAGE SHOWING THE ENTIRE TAURUS REGION

The Taurus Constellation One of the easiest constellations to see and it is just northwest of the Orion constellation! In Greek mythology, it represents the legendary animal who carried the Europe princess to the island of Crete. We see it as home of many star clusters such as the Pleiades (M45) and the Hyades (Mel25). We also find the Crab Nebula M1 within it's borders. This constellation is also home to important stellar formation regions. To the naked eye or with binoculars, we are treated to a wonderful show featuring the Pleiades and the Hyades.

Messier 1 - NGC 1952 The Crab Nebula R.A. 05h34.5m Dec. 22°01 It is located next to the Zeta Tauri star. Dimension of 6’ X 4’ Mag. 8,4. It is easily visible in small amateur telescopes. This planetary nebula is actually a Supernova remnant observed back in july 1054 in China. The new star was seen for months perhaps years because it was only in april 1056 that it became invisible! At it's maximum brightness, it could be seen in daylight! The Crab Nebula holds a Neutron star which is a localized radio source. (Return to Map)

NGC 1647 Open star cluster It's position R.A. 04h46m Dec.19°04 or 3,5° N-E of Aldebaran. A vast cluster, 40 stars across 45'. With a total magnitude of 6.5, it can easily be seen in binoculars! (Return to Map) The Hyades - A magnificent open star cluster... Mel 25 It's position is R.A. 04h27m Dec. 16°35. One of the closest star clusters and is one of the easiest to spot with the naked eye with it's distinctive V shape. Aldebaran is not a member of this cluster! The total magnitude of the cluster is 0,5 and covers approximately 4°. The Hyades are easily seen by naked eye! (See the photo of the region by Marjolaine Savoie below). (Return to Map)

The T Tauri star and NGC 1554-55 Position of T Tauri (1987) R.A. 04h22m Dec.19°31. A young star still surrounded by the nebula that formed it. This is the model system for T Tauri type variables! One can notice the association between star and nebula because they vary in phases. Magnitude is around 10. (Return to Map)

RY Tauri - young star and nebula R.A. 04h22m Dec. 28°27 A variable star of magnitude ~11. The star is accessible with amateur telescopes but the nebual can only be seen in images. Quite the challenge! (Return to Map)

The Pleiades M45 It's position is R.A. 03h44m Dec. 23°58. The most spectacular open cluster and is easily visible to the naked eye with it's 7 main stars that form a small dipper. On the image to the right, the brightest is Atlas, above it is Pleione, left of centre is Alcione, below it is Merope, lower right is Electre, above it is Maia and to it's right is Taygeta. It is located at ~ 400 light-years from us. The stars are young and still show traces of the nebula that gave birth to them. One can see this near the star Merope in this image. The Pleiades are often used as a target to estimate the quality of the sky of the stargazing site.To accomplish this, one counts how many stars can be seen by the naked eye. Try it! Tell me about it. The lower image This is an image which easily shows the complex nebulosities around the Merope, Electra and Maia stars! (Return to Map)

A very nice image of the Taurus constellation which also shows Jupiter near the Hyades and Saturn just below the Pleiades (fall 2000) !!! This image is by Marjolaine Savoie. (Return to Map)