Aldebaran facts for kids

The position of Aldebaran in the Taurus constellation

Aldebaran is a bright orange giant star. It is located about 65 light years away from Earth. You can find it in the zodiac constellation called Taurus, which looks like a bull.

Aldebaran is the brightest star in the Taurus constellation. It is also one of the brightest stars you can see in the night sky. Its average brightness, called apparent magnitude, is 0.87.

The name Aldebaran comes from Arabic. It means "the Follower." People think it's called this because it rises in the sky shortly after the Pleiades, which is a famous star cluster. Aldebaran is a very large star, with a diameter bigger than 50 million kilometers.

Aldebaran compared to Rigel, Bellatrix, Alpha Centauri A, and the Sun.

Scientists have been studying Aldebaran for a long time. In 1993, they thought they found another object orbiting it. More recently, new information suggests that there might be a planet orbiting Aldebaran.

Images for kids

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  Aldebaran is the brightest star in the constellation of Taurus (center).

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  Aldebaran in the Hyades

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  Occultation of Aldebaran by the Moon. Aldebaran is the red dot to the right, barely visible in the thumbnail.

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  Big dipper as seen from Aldebaran

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  Italian frigate Aldebaran (F 590)

See also

In Spanish: Aldebarán para niños