Aldebaran

stars · red giants · constellations

A Reddish Giant. Aldebaran is a red giant star, which means it's way bigger and redder than our Sun. It got so large because it's near the end of its life and has expanded to enormous size.

Super Bright Star. Aldebaran is the brightest star in the constellation Taurus and usually ranks as the 14th brightest star you can see from Earth. You can spot it in the night sky without a telescope because it shines so brilliantly.

Really Far Away. Even though Aldebaran looks bright to us, it's actually about 67 light-years away from Earth. That means the light from this star takes 67 years to reach your eyes.

Changes in Brightness. Aldebaran doesn't shine at exactly the same brightness all the time. It varies between being very bright and slightly less bright, like it's gently pulsing with light.

Near But Not Part Of. Aldebaran sits along our line of sight to a cluster of younger stars called the Hyades, but it's not actually part of that group. It's much older and just happens to be in front of them from our view on Earth.