Hyades
Where is the Hyades?
Look south, about 54° up at 04:33 in Taurus.
- Rises
- 21:02
- Highest
- 04:29
- Sets
- 12:00
- Best after dark
- 04:33 · 54°
Can I see the Hyades tonight?
From London tonight, the Hyades is above the horizon after dark. It’s highest after dark at 04:33, in the south at 54°.
At magnitude 0.5, with its light spread over an area of sky, it can be seen by eye from a dark site; light pollution hides it quickly.
This is position and timing only: clouds, haze and light pollution aren’t included.
What does the Hyades look like?
Eyes
An obvious V of stars around Aldebaran, visible even from towns.
Binoculars
The best view. Dozens of stars fill the field, including several pretty pairs and orange giants.
Telescope
Too spread out to see as a cluster. Use the lowest magnification to tour individual pairs.
About the Hyades
The Hyades is the nearest open star cluster to the Sun, about 150 light-years away. Its brightest stars form the V-shaped face of Taurus, the Bull.
Bright orange Aldebaran appears to sit at the tip of the V, but it isn’t a member. It is a foreground star, less than half as far away.
The cluster is around 600–700 million years old, much older than the Pleiades nearby. Because it is so close, astronomers have used it for more than a century as a stepping stone for measuring distances across the universe.
The Hyades is too large to fit in most telescope views. It is a naked-eye and binocular object.
In Greek myth the Hyades were daughters of Atlas and half-sisters of the Pleiades, linked with the rainy season. The cluster contains a few hundred stars, and the Gaia satellite has traced long trails of stars that have escaped from it.
Nearby in the sky
Questions
Is Aldebaran part of the Hyades?
Can I see the Hyades from a city?
Sources: SkyMate; star chart: Wikidata (CC0). Positions computed for your place and time with astronomy-engine. Data & Licences