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The star Aldebaran ( α Tauri) is the brightest star in the constellation Taurus. Its name is derived from the Arabic word Al Dabaran, "follower", a reference to the way the star follows the Pleiades star cluster in its nightly journey across the sky. Aldebaran itself is apparently the brightest member of the more scattered Hyades cluster, which is the closest star cluster to Earth. However, it is merely located in the line of sight between the Earth and the Hyades, and is actually an independent star.Aldebaran is a K5 III star, which means it is orangish, large, and has moved off of the main sequence by using all its hydrogen fuel. It has a minor companion (a dim M2 dwarf orbiting at several hundred AU). Now primarily fusing helium, the main star has expanded to a diameter of approximately 5.3 × 107 km, or about 38 times the diameter of the Sun. The HipparcosThe High Precision Parallax Collecting Satellite of the Hipparcos Space Astrometry Mission was a project of the European Space Agency (ESA) dedicated to the measurement of stellar parallax and the proper motions of stars. The project was named in honor of satellite has measured it as 65.1 light yearA light year abbreviated ly is the distance light travels in one year: roughly 9. 46 × 1012 kilometres (9. 46 petametres, or about 5. 88 × 1012 miles). More specifically, a light year is defined as the distance that a photon would travel, in free space ans away, and it shines with 150 times the Sun's luminosity. Taken together this distance and brightness makes it the 13th brightest star in the sky. It is slightly variable, of the pulsating variable type, by about 0.2 magnitude.
In 19971997 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar), and was designated the International Year of the Reef''. Events January January 3 NBC's Today Show Bryant Gumbel signs off for the last time January 8 Mister Rogers receives a star on t, a possible large planet (or small brown dwarfBrown dwarfs are sub- stellar objects (~13 to 75 Jupiter masses) that never fuse hydrogen into helium in their cores, as do stars on the main sequence. They do fuse deuterium. A useful criterion for telling brown dwarfs from low mass stars is obtained thr) companion was reported, with a minimum mass of 11 Jupiters and orbiting at a distance of 1.35 AU.
Astrologicallyastrological chart (or horoscope) Y2K Chart This particular chart is calculated for January 1st, 2000 at 12:01:00 A. Eastern Standard Time in New York City, New York, USA. Longitude: 074W00'23" Latitude: 40N42'51") Astrology (from Greek: , astron "star" +, Aldebaran was a fortunate star, portending riches and honor. This star is one of the four "royal stars" of the PersiansPersia is the historical name for the state of Iran. The name was used in the West due to the ancient Greek name for Iran, Persis''. Persia is used to describe the nation of Iran, its people, or its ancient empire. The name Persia comes from a province in from around 3000 BC. In the religion of Stregheria, Aldebaran is a fallen angel and quarter guardian of the eastern gate .
Aldebaran is one of the easier stars to find in the night sky, partly due to its brightness and partly due to its spatial relation to one of the more noticeable asterisms in the sky. If one follows the three stars of Orion's belt from left to right (in the Northern Hemisphere) or right to left (in the Southern), the first bright star found by continuing that line is Aldebaran.
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