Aldebaran

HR 1457 · HIP 21421 · α Tau

👁️ Naked-eye

📋 A written introduction is coming — for now this page shows official values only.

Star

Apparent magnitude: 0.86 mag
Parallax: 48.94 mas → about 66.6 light-years away
Spectral type: K5III
Right ascension: 68.9802°
Declination: 16.5093°
Designation: HR 1457
Bayer designation: α Tau
HIP number: 21421
IAU name adopted: 2016-06-30
Name language: Arabic
Name origin (IAU): Applied in the early Islamic period from its pre-Islamic Arabian name al-dabaran, possibly meaning "the Follower," alternatively used as the lunar mansion name for all the Hyades (or again for α Tau alone). The name is thought to refer to this star's following the Pleiades across the sky, or to the Hyades (or α Tau) coming after the Pleiades as a lunar mansion. "Aldebaran" is one of the oldest Arabic star names applied in the West, from the end of the 10th century A.D.

Constellation

Light from this object takes about 67 years to reach Earth — the light you see tonight left around AD 1959 (official distance ÷ speed of light).
At magnitude 0.9 it is bright enough for the naked eye (limit about 6) — look from somewhere dark.
Declination 16.5° — it rises above the horizon in Seoul (37.6° N), so it is visible from Korea in the right season.