Star profile
Atlas
27 Tauri · Taurus
Hot blue starWhat is Atlas
Atlas is a blue class-B star burning within the Pleiades cluster, 382 light-years away in Taurus. It bears the name of the Titan condemned to hold up the celestial vault, mythical father of the seven sisters that form the cluster in Greek mythology. Atlas and Pleione are the parent stars; their daughters are the small but brilliant points that have guided agricultural calendars from pharaonic Egypt to the Polynesians of the Pacific.
Where it is and when to see it
Atlas 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. 9 in brightness among the 144 stars of Taurus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Aldebaran, the brightest: it lies about 13° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 380 years ago.
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A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.
Astronomical data for Atlas
- Constellation
- Taurus
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.62
- Distance
- 382.4 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 57.291° · Dec 24.053°
- Catalogue
- HIP 17847 · HD 23850
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.
- AldebaranAlpha Tauri0.87
- ElnathBeta Tauri1.65
- AlcyoneEta Tauri2.85
- Lambda Tauri3.41
- AinEpsilon Tauri3.53
- Omicron Tauri3.61
- Prima HyadumGamma Tauri3.65
- Electra3.72