Constellation of the Month: January
Taurus (The Bull)

by: John Mirtle.
Page last updated: May 3, 2004

Contents
Naked Eye Objects Small Scope Objects Big Scope Objects Challenge Objects Maps Photos

Naked Eye Objects:

	Name	R.A.	Decl.	Details
	Hyades	04hr 27m	+16° 00'	A large "V" shaped open cluster 5.5° across, forming the face of Taurus. Aldeberan marks the "eye" of the bull but is a foreground object. The second closest cluster to us, at 40 parsecs away.
	M45^!	03hr 47.0m	+24° 07'	The "Pleiades" or "Seven Sisters" - another bright open cluster. The seven brightest stars should be visible from a dark site. Located 120 parsecs away it is smaller and fainter than the Hyades.

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Small Scope Objects:

Name	R.A.	Decl.	Details
M1^! (NGC 1952)	05hr 34.5m	+22° 01'	The "Crab Nebula" - the brightest example of a supernova remnant, formed in 1054 and still expanding. 8 x 6 arc minutes in size glowing at mag. 8.5.
NGC 1647	04hr 46m	+19° 04'	An easy open cluster of 200 stars. Measuring 45 arc minutes and shining at mag. 6.4. Often overlooked due to it's proximity to the Hyades.
NGC 1746	05hr 03m	+23° 49'	An open cluster of about 20 stars. Magnitude 6.1 covering 42 arc minutes. Look for NGC 1750 and NGC 1758 superimposed on NGC 1746.
NGC 1807	05hr 11m	+16° 32'	Another cluster of 20 stars squeezed into 17 arc minutes. An easy target at mag. 7.0. NGC 1817 lies next door and contains 3 times as many stars. Bright at mag. 7.7, 16 arc minutes in size.

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Big Scope Objects:

Name	R.A.	Decl.	Details
NGC 1514^!	04hr 09.2m	+30° 47'	A planetary nebula with low surface brightness. 1.9 arc minutes in diameter, magnitude 10 with a 9th mag. central star. (110NGC)
DoDz 14	04hr 06m	+27° 26'	(Dolidze) A poor open cluster of 18 stars with a diameter of 12 arc minutes.
DoDz 4	05hr 36m	+25° 57'	(Dolidze-Dzimselejsvili) A large bright loose cluster of 45 stars covering 28 arc minutes of sky.
NGC 1587	04hr 40m	+00° 40'	A small elliptical galaxy 1.7 x 1.5 arc minutes, mag 11.7.
NGC 1589	04hr 31m	+00° 52'	A spiral galaxy in the same field as NGC 1587. 3.2 x 1 arc minutes in size, magnitude 11.7.
NGC 1642	04hr 43m	+00° 37'	A face-on spiral, resembling a small M101. 1.8 x 1.6 arc minutes in size, magnitude 12.5.

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Challenge Objects:

	Name	R.A.	Decl.	Details
	NGC 1554 and NGC 1555	04hr 21m	+19° 32'	"Hind's Variable Nebula" - a faint reflection nebula associated with the variable star T Tauri. About 30 arc seconds in size forming an arc.
	NGC 1435	03hr 46m	+23° 47'	The "Merope Nebula" in M45. A faint reflection nebula visible with small scopes, but good skies are a must.

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Constellation Maps:

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Photos:

Photo 1
South is at top to match the view in an inverting telescope.
Photo credit: John Mirtle.
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