Taurus

Hyades V

Taurus V

catalogue / cluster listing · high confidence

The nearest prominent open-cluster pattern forms a broad V around Aldebaran, which is a foreground star projected onto the group. It overflows binoculars but rewards slow sweeping.

Central RA: 04^h 27^m 08.5^s
Central Dec: +16° 56′ 45″
Brightest member: V 0.85
Best months from 50°N: December–March evenings
Suggested instrument: 7x50
Approx. span: 4.1°

Finder context

Use the nearby bright stars to locate the gold box, then move to the larger chart for the pattern itself.

Framing: Approximate member-star span: 4.1°; use at least 5.8° field for context.

Observing and imaging

Naked eye

Look for a haze or partial pattern from darker skies; use nearby naked-eye stars to find it.

Binoculars

Best treated as a binocular field; start with 7×50 or similar and allow roughly 4.1° of pattern spread.

Small scope

Use low power to keep the pattern together.

Imaging

Frame a 6° field around Taurus to include the pattern and its nearby stars.

Tonight from your latitude

Set your location and date to see a useful window, peak altitude, sky visibility, and Moon conditions. Use Month to compare the season ahead.

Latitude 50°NLongitude -114°Date Month Sky darkness Bortle 4 · limit V 6.1

Naked-eye visibility by sky class

Bortle class rates night-sky brightness. The atlas counts a pattern as recognisable when at least 70% of its defining stars are visible.

Bortle 3: 7/7 stars — fully visibleBortle 5: 7/7 stars — fully visibleBortle 7: 7/7 stars — fully visible

Moon impact

For 50°N in the best month, green dates mark at least two hours with the pattern above 20° and the Moon below the horizon.

01020304050607080910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031

Member stars

Name	Bayer / Flamsteed	HR	RA J2000	Dec J2000	V mag
Aldebaran	87Alp Tau	HR 1457	04^h 35^m 55.2^s	+16° 30′ 33″	0.85
Theta² Tauri	78The2Tau	HR 1412	04^h 28^m 39.7^s	+15° 52′ 15″	3.40
Ain	74Eps Tau	HR 1409	04^h 28^m 37.0^s	+19° 10′ 49″	3.53
Hyadum I	54Gam Tau	HR 1346	04^h 19^m 47.6^s	+15° 37′ 39″	3.65
Delta¹ Tauri	61Del1Tau	HR 1373	04^h 22^m 56.1^s	+17° 32′ 33″	3.76
Theta¹ Tauri	77The1Tau	HR 1411	04^h 28^m 34.5^s	+15° 57′ 44″	3.84
Hyadum II	68Del3Tau	HR 1389	04^h 25^m 29.4^s	+17° 55′ 41″	4.29

Source and confidence

catalogue / cluster listing; high confidence. Listed with Sky Catalogue 2000.0 and the Bright Star Catalogue.

Citations

Bright Star Catalogue, 5th Revised Ed.: Hoffleit, D. & Warren, W.H. Jr. (1991). Positions, V magnitudes, Bayer/Flamsteed identifiers. source
Sky Catalogue 2000.0: Hirshfeld, A. & Sinnott, R.W. (eds.). Vol. 2: Double Stars, Variable Stars and Nonstellar Objects. Used for cluster/asterism cross-checks.
The Hipparcos and Tycho Catalogues: ESA SP-1200 (1997). Used as the modern astrometric reference named by the atlas; the MVP pages expose BSC5 J2000 fields for the plotted bright-star members.