Star profile

Alcyone

Eta Tauri · Taurus

Hot blue star

3D likeness based on its real data · class B · ~15,000 K

What is Alcyone

Alcyone is the brightest of the Pleiades, the open cluster that appears in myths, calendars and pottery across half the world. Its name comes from one of the seven mythical daughters of Atlas in Greek tradition. It is a hot blue star, wrapped in the cluster's bluish nebulosity, and at 403 light-years its light set out before the great Dutch Baroque masters had painted their first portrait.

Where it is and when to see it

Alcyone lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is November, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it culminates about 63° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 73° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 32° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 66° S.

It ranks no. 3 in brightness among the 144 stars of Taurus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Aldebaran, the brightest: it lies about 14° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 400 years ago.

Find it on the sky map

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Astronomical data for Alcyone

Constellation: Taurus
Apparent magnitude: 2.85
Distance: 403.2 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 56.871° · Dec 24.105°
Catalogue: HIP 17702 · HD 23630

A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.

Other stars in Taurus

Taurus has 144 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 144 stars in Taurus