Aldebaran00uv Ofon
The position of Aldebaran in the Taurus constellation
Aldebaran (α Tau, α Tauri, Alpha Tauri) is an orange giant star.[1][2] It is about 65 light years away in the zodiac constellation of Taurus. With an average apparent magnitude of 0.87 it is the brightest star in the constellation and is one of the brightest stars in the nighttime sky. The name Aldebaran is Arabic (الدبران al-dabarān) and means "the Follower", presumably because it rises near and soon after the Pleiades.[3] The diameter of Aldebaran is larger than 50 million kilometers.
Aldebaran compared to Rigel, Bellatrix, Alpha Centauri A, and the Sun.
In 1993 a companion body was reported. A paper recently accepted shows evidence for a planetary companion.[4]
References[change | change source]
- ↑ Oxford Dictionary: Aldebaran
- ↑ Merriam-Webster: Aldebaran
- ↑ Kaler, James B. (May 22, 2009). "Aldebaran". Stars. Archived from the original on 10 January 2010. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
- ↑ Hatzes A.P; Cochran W.D. et al 2015. Long-lived, long-period radial velocity variations in Aldebaran: a planetary companion and stellar activity. Astronomy and Astrophysics. [1]
